Dealing With Destiny: Revised
by lilyfan06
Summary: What if James and Lily had survived on that fateful Halloween night? How would they deal with their son's destiny and a second wizarding war? What if Harry had a younger sibiling? Read on to find out! Revised version of story w/ same title
1. The Unexpected

A/N: Hello again everyone! It's taken me a awhile, but I've finally started to revise Dealing With Destiny. There have been some big changes, and some not so big changes, but I hope you like it. I should be able to post the next chapter tomorrow, if I get some reviews, that is! (Hint)

The Unexpected

Lily paced in front of the couch, where her husband was sitting. James was staring intently at a thin piece of plastic that was laid on a cardboard box. She couldn't believe this was happening again – not this soon. Harry wasn't even a year and a half old yet.

James's watch beeped. They looked at each other for a moment before Lily reached for the strip of plastic. But she didn't read the results. Instead, she held it out for James to take. 

"You read it," she said. He took it from her as she began to pace again.

"It's positive."

Lily snapped her head around to look at him. 

"You're pregnant," he said as a lopsided grin spread onto his handsome face. Lily smiled as well. She sat down next to him and took the Muggle home pregnancy test from his hands. Yes, definitely positive. 

James wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pull her close and kissed her temple as tears of happiness slid down her face. 

"We're going to have a baby." Lily said, smiling up at her husband. 

He beamed back at her. "I love you."

"I love you, too," she said before she kissed him. 

"Well, this explains why you've been sick the past few mornings."

Lily laughed. "It most certainly does." She laid her head on his shoulder as James's hand moved to her belly. They sat in silence for some time before Lily said, "You know that there's going to be an Order meeting in a few hours, right?"

"Yeah, and we're playing host, right?"

"Right," Lily replied. "Dumbledore sent me his patronus when you were at work saying that he needed to speak with us. And this way, Harry will be more comfortable here."

"Are Frank and Alice going to bring Neville?"

"I don't think so. Alice has had the flu so I think she's going to stay at home with him."

"Do you want to tell them yet?" James asked.

Lily thought for a moment before replying, "Not yet. I mean, I don't care to tell Sirius or Remus, but let's hold off on telling everyone else."

"Okay."

They lapsed into another comfortable silence. Lily had nearly fallen asleep when Harry began to cry. She and James both went upstairs to check on their son. 

But the minute Lily lifted him out of his crib, he stopped crying. She held him so that his head rested on her shoulder, humming softly and swaying back and forth until he fell back to sleep. 

There was a knock on the front door. James said, "It's probably Sirius," and went down stairs. She heard her husband's best friend's unmistakable bark-like laughter as she laid the now sleeping Harry back in his crib. 

000

Nearly half an hour, almost all of the Order members were there. All except for two. Lily was just starting to get antsy when she heard a knock. James made to stand from his spot on the floor when Lily said, "No, I'll get it," and beat him to the door. 

Just as Lily had thought, Dumbledore and Severus had arrived. She opened the door, smiled and said, "Please, come in."

"And how are you this evening, Lily?" Dumbledore asked politely. Severus remained silent. 

"Very well, thanks. Would either of you care for anything to drink?"

"No, thank you." Dumbledore replied. Severus merely shook his head; he looked as though he could not speak.

Lily led they way back to the sitting room, where the rest of the Order was seated, either on the couch and chairs that normally vacated the room, or else ones that had been conjured there. She made to sit on the floor, when Sirius said, "Here, Lily," indicating that she take his chair.

"Oh, no Sirius, I'm fine here on the floor," she replied as she sat down next to James, who wrapped his arm around her waist. She knew that Sirius, who had found out about Lily's pregnancy before the others had arrived, was just trying to be chivalrous, but in all actuality, she was much more comfortable leaning against James. 

Dumbledore stood and the chattering instantly died away. Lily felt as though she were back at Hogwarts as everyone turned their attention to him. Over the next hour they went over some of the more general aspects of their various plans. Once the meeting had adjourned, the members stood around, catching up with one another. 

Severus was the first to leave – and for good reason. For one, nearly the last place he ever wanted to be was James Potter's home. But more importantly, he could hardly stand to be in James and Lily's home. He could hardly take being in the same room as the couple. 

It felt as though he were back in his seventh year at Hogwarts. Lily was just – if not more – radiant than she had been then. Her bright green eyes still lit up the same way they had done when they were children, when he would tell her things about the wizarding world. 

Only now, it was someone else who made her eyes sparkle.

000

Once everyone but Dumbledore had finally left, he, James, and Lily sat down at the kitchen table. 

"So, what did you want to talk to us about?" James asked. 

Dumbledore's eyes filled with sadness. "I hate to bring this upon you, but I feel it best if your family goes into hiding."

James and Lily were taken aback. "But why?" Lily managed to ask.

"Because of a prophecy that was made shortly before the birth of your son, saying that a boy born at the end of July who would have the power to defeat Lord Voldemort. At the time it was made, it was unclear who was the boy that the prophecy spoke of. It could have been either Harry or Neville Longbottom. But for his own reasons, Voldemort believes that Harry is the one."

Silence met this stunning statement. 

"Wh-What do you suggest we do?" James asked, sounding slightly desperate. Lily grasped his hand under the table.

"The Fidelius Charm." Lily head lifted slightly. "It involves the magical concealment of your location inside a single, living soul, known as the Secret–Keeper. As long as the Secret–Keeper never reveals your location, Voldemort will be unable to find you."

"It sounds perfect." Lily said.

"And I would like to volunteer myself to be your Secret–Keeper."

"We couldn't possibly ask you to do that for us," James said.

"Then who?" Lily asked.

"Sirius."

"Are you sure that is wise, James?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yes," he replied, sounding slightly defensively.

"Very well." Dumbledore handed Lily a very old, leather bound book. "The instructions for the charm are in here." Dumbledore stood and headed for the door with James and Lily following suit.

After bidding their former Headmaster good–bye, James and Lily returned to their living room.

"Please tell me," Lily began as she curled up next to James on the couch, "that this is a dream."

"I'm afraid not," he replied, sounding much older than twenty–one.

It seemed incredible that only hours ago, they had found out that Lily was pregnant. Sure, they knew it would be difficult to raise another child when their first was still so young, but they knew they could make it work.

But now what? How was Lily supposed to go to a Healer's appointment when they were in hiding? What if they were still in hiding when the baby was born? What if something went wrong during the pregnancy and both her life and the life of the child was in danger?

And what about Harry? At nearly fifteen months old, he was the target of the most feared Dark wizard of all time. Lily's insides felt like ice.

James pulled her out of these terrifying thoughts by asking, "Do you think we should contact Sirius tonight?"

"Yeah." 


	2. Halloween

A/N: I'm really sorry that I did get a chance to post before now. My brother has xbox live and hogs the computer. Anywho, hope you enjoy it and don't forget to leave a review!

Chapter 2

Halloween

They had switched.

Lily wasn't sure why, even now, a week after they had gone into hiding, it had seemed like a good idea to switch to Peter. Sirius had said that no one would expect Peter and they would be safer this way.

James had agreed. Lily had been in such a complete state of shock form the whole situation that she agreed without thinking.

It wasn't that she didn't trust Peter – but he had seemed a bit too eager to help.

But now, Halloween, an uneasy felling hung in the pit of her stomach. Maybe it was paranoia. Maybe it was woman's intuition.

000

James was lounging on the couch, reading _The Daily Prophet. _Ever since they had gone into hiding, Sirius had made it a habit of sending James copies of the wizarding newspaper. And even though the paper was filled with more news of death and destruction, it felt good to still have some knowledge of the outside world. And as hard as it was for him to sit still for too long, being in hiding was not all that bad. He got to spend a lot more time with his wife and son, which he valued beyond everything. During the past six months or so, it felt like he hardly left the Auror Department at the Ministry. But now he could spend all day with his family – even if they were in hiding.

He tossed the paper on the floor, pushed his round glasses onto his forehead and rubbed his eyes. Then he heard Lily coming down the stairs. Even though she hadn't said anything yet, James could tell she was flustered.

"He just does not want to go to sleep at all," Lily said as she finished descending the stairs. James turned to face her and noticed that Harry was in her arms – very much awake, wearing his blue pajamas.

"Well it's still early," he said has he held out his arms.

Harry smiled and said, "Dada!" as Lily passed him to James.

"Not for him; it's nearly ten o'clock. He should have been asleep hours ago," Lily tried to be serious, but couldn't help but smile as she watched James tickle Harry as he laughed.

James walked over to where a few of Harry's toys were laying around the room and put him down. He came back to Lily and wrapped his arms around her waist. "And you weren't complaining when took an extra long nap this afternoon either," he whispered in her ear.

Now it was her turn to laugh. "Well if you hadn't done such a good job _preoccupying _me –" But she was silenced with his kiss. Lily ran her hands across his chest, around his neck, and threw his hair as James tightened his grip on her waist.

But the moment was short lived.

"Mama!" they heard Harry cry from somewhere at their knees.

"What is it, Harry?" Lily asked her son as she crouched down. He was dragging a stuffed stag by its antlers. Sirius had said he couldn't pass up the chance to buy it.

"Juice"

"Okay," she smiled as she ruffled his black hair and stood up.

"You want me to get it?" James offered.

"No, it's okay, I'll get it. I need to take my potion, anyway."

James nodded as he lifted Harry into his arms. "Well, then it looks like me and you get to play while Mummy get you some juice,"

Lily smiled to herself as she headed out of the living room, into the hall, through the dining room and into the kitchen. She reached into the refrigerator, and grabbed one of Harry's sippy cups that already had some apple juice in it. She then took her nightly potion that would prevent her from being sick in the morning from her pregnancy. Ugh, it was disgusting – but well worth it.

She went back into the living room, where James was conjuring puffs of smoke with his wand for their laughing son.

"I think its time to get him to bed." Lily said. "Hand him over."

James scooped Harry up and handed him to Lily. He then tossed his wand onto the sofa and stretched his strong arms above his head, yawning.

"Looks like you need to go to bed t-"

But before she could finish her sentence, the front door was blasted open.

James grabbed his wand and sprinted into the hall. Lily gripped Harry tightly.

"Lily, take Harry and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off!"

Lily froze for a moment. Her first instinct was to help James–but she had to get their son out of here. Harry was all that mattered.

She ran up the stairs, two at a time, but when she reached Harry's room she heard Voldemort scream_ "Avada Kedavra!"_

She froze as she heard a crash from down stairs. Lily swayed and thought she would pass out. _No, he can't be. This isn't happening. James can't be dead. _

But one terrifying sound brought her back – the sound of footsteps, drawing ever closer.

With her son still in her arms, Lily pushed the rocker and Harry's toy chest against the door. But the footsteps were now right outside the door–and she knew it wasn't James.

She slowly backed up until she could feel Harry's crib behind her. Her eyes filled with tears and her heart filled with terror as the door magically opened. Lord Voldemort stood over the threshold. She lowered Harry into the crib behind her and threw her arms wide.

"Not Harry, not Harry, please not Harry!" she begged and screamed.

"Stand aside, you silly girl...stand aside, now..." he said in that cold, terrifying voice.

"Not Harry, please no, take me, kill me instead–"

"This is my last warning–"

"Not Harry! Please…have mercy…have mercy…. Not Harry! Please–I'll do anything–"

"_Crucio!_" he screamed. She fell to the floor, screaming and writhing in agony.

When he finally lifted the curse, Lily lay panting, staring at the ceiling, with Voldemort laughing from somewhere to her left.

He was coming closer. Somehow, she managed to stand. For that instant, it didn't matter that she had no wand – no means of protection. Call it the most primitive instinct to protect her child, Lily started towards Voldemort.

But he was too fast. With a flick of his wand, Lily was thrown into the air and smashed into the dresser on the other side of the room. She attempted to stand again, but the heavy wooden dresser came crashing down on top of her, pinning her to the floor.

"And now," he said as he turned his attention to the child. "Harry Potter...and to think, you are suppose to be the end of me." Only now did Harry begin to cry.

He paid no attention to the child's mother that was crying on the floor. If he had, he would have heard her spell of desperation.

As Voldemort turned his back on Lily, a strange sensation rose from within her. Without truly knowing what she was doing, Lily raised her hand and whispered:

"_I lay here in your guardian light,_

_Empower my son with all you might,_

_Protection from harm is what I ask,_

_Please accept this as you task."_

Her hand fell to the floor, unable to hold it up any longer. She thought she saw a slight glow that surrounded Harry for just a second, but then thought it was only because she was near death. The crushing weight of the dresser was making it harder for her to breath. At this point, she was hoping on passing out soon.

"Goodbye, Harry Potter," Voldemort hissed as he raised his wand.

"NOOOO!" Lily screamed in final desperation as Voldemort raised his wand.

"_Avada Kedavra!" _

As much as Lily did not want to see her son die, she couldn't take her eyes off of him as the bright green light rushed at the fifteen month old.

But just as the Killing Curse touched Harry's head, a bright white light filled the room. Lily squinted her eyes, only seeing white. She heard another scream – this one, however, was coming from Voldemort, and the what sounded like a cannon going off.

Lily slowly lifted her head. A whole wall and the most of the ceiling had been blown off. She could see the bright stars above and a few trees swaying slightly in the cool breeze. Voldemort was gone...And there...sitting in the crib crying like there was no tomorrow...was Harry... with a jagged cut on his forehead...

She couldn't believe it. Her son had survived. New tears – tears of happiness – fell down her face. She tried to move, tried to get up and hold and kiss and comfort her son, but she couldn't move. The edges of her vision were beginning to blur and she knew that soon she would lose consciousness.

From what seemed like far away, she could hear people running into her house – up the stairs.

"Lily!" a familiar voice called from afar. The dresser was lifted off of her and she could feel someone's fingers on her neck, checking for a pulse. "She's still alive!" the person called. She heard others running into the room. Lily blinked her eyes as Sirius swam in and out of focus.

"Sirius..." she whispered. Now, she could let go. Now Harry would be safe. Lily closed her eyes as darkness consumed her.


	3. Together

A/N: Thanks to everyone who has been reviewing, and keep it up!

Chapter 3

Together

She felt heavy. Like invisible straps were pinning her down. Something soft seemed to be covering her from her chest down. _Am I dead? _She wondered vaguely. She could hear voices, but they were too soft to made out the words. She was suddenly aware that someone was holding her hand. She tried to open her eyes, but couldn't. She tried to speak, but only a faint grunt emerged from her lips.

She felt someone's grasp on her hand tighten. "Lily?"

Again, she tried to open her eyes and this time she succeeded. At first she could only make out blurry shapes but after blinking a few times, she saw someone who she thought she would never see again.

"James?" she whispered.

"Yeah,"

Tears began to fill her eyes. "I – I though y – " but James put a finger to her lips before he lightly kissed her.

"I almost was," he said softly.

"But I heard – I heard Voldemort cast a killing curse on you,"

"He did, but I dodged it. Instead, it hit the wall, which collapsed and landed on me. The Healers only released me yesterday."

"What day is it?"

"November 5th,"

"Harry...Where's Harry?" she asked urgently as she tried to sit up.

But James moved from his chair to the edge of her bed as gently put his hands on her shoulders to hold her back. "He's fine. He's been with Sirius since the night we were attacked."

"What about our house?"

"Nearly totally destroyed. Like I said, Harry's been at Sirius's since the attack and I've been there since my release."

They were silent for a few minutes before Lily asked, "So Harry didn't have to be hospitalized?"

"No," even James sounded amazed, "Sirius said the Healers checked him over, but he was fine...He just has a lightning bolt scar on his forehead, but other than that, they said he's perfectly healthy."

"So our son is the only one to have ever survived the Killing Curse?"

"Yeah, you should read the papers. 'The Boy Who Lived', they're calling him. Hundreds of people have been gathering outside the hospital, hoping to see him...and us. There hasn't been a day that's passed since the attack that we haven't been on the front page of _The Daily Prophet_. And still, nobody knows how Harry survived..."

Lily tried to remember what had happened...She remembered Voldemort using the Cruciatus Curse on her, and being trapped under the dresser...but she couldn't remember anything after that.

"So is Voldemort gone? For good?"

"That is an extremely difficult question to answer," came a new voice.

James and Lily turned around to see none other than Albus Dumbledore walking across the ward in St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.

"How are you feeling, Lily?" he continued kindly.

"Exhausted,"

Dumbledore smiled slightly as he drew up a chair from midair. "Now as to your question...Is Voldemort gone for good? The majority of the wizarding population thinks that young Harry has brought a permanent end to Voldemort's reign of terror and that he is dead.

"But there are a few, and I include myself, who do not believe that we have seen the last of Voldemort. But for now, we can all sleep a little sounder in our beds knowing that we will at least have a nice long vacation from war."

"Professor," James began, "there is something that I still don't understand. How did Harry survive?"

"Have a theory, but before I share it, I would like to hear Lily's version of the attack,"

"I don't know, she's only just woken up – "

But he stopped when Lily lightly put her hand on his.

"It's okay James," she said as she slowly sat up in bed. She told James and Dumbledore all that she could remember.

"... But I can't remember hardly anything once I after being trapped under the dresser..."

Dumbledore looked at her thoughtfully for a moment, his blue eyes twinkling, before he asked, "Did you maybe say some kind of incantation of a spell?"

Lily was silent as she stared at the edge of her bed. She suddenly remembered something new. She _had _said something, but what?

"Yes," she said quietly. "Right before he tried to kill Harry...But I don't remember what..."

James looked bewildered, but Dumbledore had a knowing look in his blue eyes.

"I thought so," Dumbledore said, "I believe that Harry survived because of love. Lily, you nearly gave your life in the slim possibility that your son could live. Voldemort gave you an option to live – yet you refused. That, and the spell you performed while near death, gave Harry a protection, a protection I believe will last for quite some time."

Silence greeted Dumbledore's speech while both Lily and James plunged into thought. But thinking just made Lily's head hurt, so she switched gears.

"I want to see Harry," she said, breaking the silence.

"That can be arranged," Dumbledore said serenely. "I had told James and Sirius that it would be best if Harry stayed out of the public's eye, but I think it would be alright if he comes in for a short while.

"Well, I must be going, I must get back to my students...they have been even more restless than usual...goodbye, James, Lily," He nodded politely to each of them before leaving.

"Do you want me to get Harry now?"

Lily beamed at him. "That would be great...but first, I want to ask you something."

"Anything,"

"What happened to Peter?"

His smile faded. "Sirius found him. He killed twelve Muggles trying to escape, but they got him. He confessed to being our secret keeper and selling us out. They held a trial yesterday and they gave him a life sentence in Azkaban." His voice was filled with bitterness, and Lily couldn't blame him.

James kissed her before he left. She bit her bottom lip as she scooted down in bed, getting more comfortable. Even now that she and James had been together for five years, his kiss could still make her go weak.

She was staring into space, thinking about James and Harry, when she heard someone walking into the ward. She turned slightly to see Emmeline Vance, in her bright green Healer's robes, smiling at seeing Lily awake. Emmeline had been a few years ahead of her and James in school, but once they all joined the Order of the Phoenix, she and Lily had become pretty close friends.

"I'm glad to see you're my Healer," Lily said as Emmeline approached the side of her bed.

"I'm glad to see you alive, to be honest," Emmeline smiled. "So how did you manage to get rid of that husband of yours...I haven't seen him away from your bed since he was able to get out of his own."

"Oh, he'll be back," Lily laughed, "he's going to get Harry so I can see him,"

"That's wonderful," said Emmeline. "And I have some good news for you."

"Which is…?"

"You're still pregnant." Lily beamed at her. Emmeline continued, "James told me yesterday that you had found out over a week ago, but after the attack, he was worried. I haven't told him yet – I though you should."

"Thank you so much, Em."

"No problem, Lily."

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in," she said before an Auror came in.

"Mrs. Potter? Your husband and son are here to see you."

Lily was about to ask why they needed permission to come in, but Emmeline seemed to read her mind. "Oh yeah, I don't know if James had the chance to tell you, but the Ministry has set an Auror to guard this ward as long as you're here."

"He left that out," Lily replied. "Oh, they can come in," The Auror nodded before James, carrying Harry, came into the room. Emmeline let herself out, smiling at James as she left.

Lily beamed as she saw her son.

"Mama!" Harry said, smiling, as he and James approached her bed.

James gave Harry to Lily and said, "He's really missed you,"

Lily hugged her son close as she nearly broke down in tears again. Once she loosed her grip, she ran her hand over his jet-black hair – her feeble attempt to tame the uncontrollable hair he inherited from his father. As she did this, she saw the lightning bolt scar that James had told her about. She lightly ran her finger across it, glad to notice that it didn't hurt Harry.

"I have news," Lily said, looking up at James.

"Let me hear it."

"I'm still pregnant."

James smiled widely at her before he kissed her. "That's great, Lily." They were silent for a moment before James asked, "Do you think we'll have a girl this time?"

"I hope so, I need to even out the numbers." James looked slightly confused so Lily continued, "There's you, Sirius, Remus, and Harry. I'm very outnumbered and I need someone to go shopping with."

They laughed before they lapsed into a comfortable silence.

"I love you," James said.

"I love you, too."


	4. Shocking News

A/N: Thanks for all of the reviews!! You guys most definately rock my socks off! I've had a few reviews about Harry's sibling on the way will be a girl, and to that I say you'll have to wait until chapter 6. (smiles evil-ly) I will probably update again on Tuesday.

Shocking News

Over the next few days, Lily became extremely restless. Staying in one place all day and night was not something that she was used to doing. While she had quit her job (she was an assistant Healer) shortly after Harry was born, he had at least kept her busy. But everyday James would bring Harry, usually accompanied by Sirius or Remus. She and James bought another home in Godric's Hollow. This one, however, was on the outskirts of the town, away from prying eyes. James, Sirius, and Remus had managed to salvage what they could from what was left of their home. Lily hadn't been worried about the clothes or furniture, but they had managed to get James and Lily's wedding album and a baby book that Lily had started for Harry since before his birth; they were the only things she truly wanted.

It was the night before Lily was to be released. James leaning back in his chair, next to Lily's bed, fast asleep. Not that Lily could blame him – it was nearly midnight. Harry was fast asleep in her arms, yet she was wide-awake. She had always had trouble sleeping in the hospital beds – they weren't nearly as comfortable as the king sized bed that she and James shared.

She was thinking about trying to go back to sleep when she heard multiple people in the corridor, talking in urgent voices and what sounded like to stretchers being pushed. Then Emmeline quietly came into the room as James woke up.

"What's going on?" Lily asked.

"I really shouldn't say anything – you know as well as I do that Healers can't give their patients information about their other patients...But as an Order member, I'm going to tell you. Besides, its better that you hear it from me rather than read it in the paper tomorrow...Frank and Alice Longbottom were attacked."

"You're kidding!" James exclaimed.

"Was it the Death Eaters?" Lily asked, just as shocked.

"Yeah...Bellatrix Lestrange, her husband Rodolphus, his brother Rabastan, and Barty Crouch, Jr."

"Hold on," said James, throwing his arms in the air as if in surrender. "Crouch's _son_?"

"One in the same," she said solemnly. "Frank was suppose to stop by the Ministry tonight, but when he never showed up, a few Aurors went to his house. They found the Death Eaters torturing Frank and Alice with the Cruciatus Curse."

Lily's hand flew to her gaping mouth as James asked, "Are they going to be okay?"

Emmeline looked away from James and Lily and looked at the foot of Lily's bed instead.

"Physically, they'll be fine...but mentally?...It's not looking good...they may never leave..."

Tears leaked from Lily's eyes as she glanced down at her sleeping son. Ever since Dumbledore had told them that Voldemort had chosen Harry for the prophecy, she couldn't help but be jealous of Frank and Alice...But what would have happened if _their_ son would have been targeted instead of Harry? Would it be her and James that had been driven mad by Death Eaters?

"What about their son, Neville?" Lily asked.

"He's fine," said Emmeline as wiped her own eyes. "One of the Aurors was saying that it looks like Alice put a Silencing Charm around Neville's room about the same time the Death Eater's showed up so they would find him. I think he'll be living with Frank's mother, now..."

"Thanks for the head's up, Em," Lily said tonelessly.

Emmeline nodded and said, "You really need to get some rest, Lily," before leaving the ward.

But Lily continued to stare at the wall, thinking.

"You know, she's right...you do need to rest," said James as he sat on the edge of her bed.

"Are you going home?"

"Yeah, I'd better get him to bed," he said as he lifted Harry into his arms. "I'll see you in a few hours?"

"Yeah,"

James leaned closer and lightly kissed Lily. She watched him walk to the end of the ward before he paused and turned around. "Try not to think too much about Frank and Alice...you need your rest,"

She nodded and gave him a weak smile before he left.

000

By nine o'clock the next morning, Lily was dressed and ready to get the hell out of St. Mungo's. She was signing all of her discharge papers at the front desk.

"So how are we getting home?" Lily asked as she put her signature on the final paper.

"The Ministry has loaned us a car; it's right outside. Harry, Sirius, and Remus are already there."

She nodded as she gave the parchment to the witch at the desk. Together they walked into the London street. But as soon as they appeared, Lily was nearly blinded. Instinctively, she covered her eyes and blinked furiously as James put his arm around her waist and attempted to steer them through the crowd.

_Damn reporters, _James thought.

The gathered reporters started yelling questions as the couple tried to leave. "Lily, James! Where is Harry?!"

"How did Harry survive?!"

"Did your son _kill _You-Know-Who?!"

They ignored them as they nearly fought there way through. Finally, they saw their car. James opened the door as Lily slid in. She immediately saw Remus holding Harry.

"Mama!" he called as Remus passed Harry to his mother. Soon, James nearly dove into the car and slammed the door shut.

"They are bloody vicious," he said as the driver pulled away.

"How did they know I was being released today?"

"It was in the _Prophet _a few days ago," said Sirius.

The rest of the ride went by easily, and even though Godric's Hollow was no where near London, it took very little time to get there. Before they knew it, the Ministry car was driving down one of the side roads of Godric's Hollow. The car's occupants looked out of the windows as they passed the Potter's destroyed home where nearly a dozen people were gathered just outside the gate.

Lily truly appreciated that her family had made it out alive. Nearly all of the right side of the top floor – what had been Harry's room – had been blown apart.

A few minutes later, they approached their new home. It looked similar to their other one, except it was larger.

Once they were all inside, James, Lily, Harry, Sirius, and Remus all headed into the living room. James lit a fire in the grate as Remus conjured butterbeer – for the adults, anyway. They spent the rest of the evening reminiscing about the war that was finally over, and thankful for a future that they now had.


	5. Witch Weekly

A/N: Sorry I was a few days late on this, but I had a major come apart this week b/c I thought I (along with everyone else in my class) thought we were going to fail. So now that I know I'm not going to fail, I can update. yay! This one's a bit shorter than some of the previous ones, but its one of my favs. Hope you enjoy it!

Chapter 5

Witch Weekly

Lily and James had just left St. Mungo's. It was the end of February now and they had just left one of Lily's Healer appointments, and both Lily and the baby were doing fine.

She pulled her coat around her small, yet ever growing bump. The sharp wind whipped through her dark red hair, which she tried to push behind her ears as James put his arm around her waist and pulled her closer.

They were headed to Diagon Alley so Lily could pick up a few things from the apothecary store. They waved at Tom, the barman of the Leaky Cauldron, before going into the alley behind the pub and into Diagon Alley.

It hadn't taken Lily long to do her shopping. She was quite eager to get home to her son, who Sirius was watching. She and James were making their way back to the Leaky Cauldron when a magazine stand caught James's eye.

"Wait a moment," he said. Lily looked confused as James bought the newest edition of _Witch Weekly._ Seeing the look on her face, he handed her the magazine.

On the front cover was a picture of Lily holding Harry on her hip. The headline read, "Is Lily pregnant?" Again, Lily looked at her picture. Because of the way she was holding Harry, her robes had been pulled taut across her abdomen, quite clearly showing her tale–tell bump.

"Come on, let's get out of this wind," James said, steering Lily toward the Leaky Cauldron. From there, they Disapparated home.

"Hey guys," Sirius said once they entered their home.

"Hey Sirius," James and Lily replied.

Harry came tottering out of the living room to see who was making the commotion. "Daddy!" he yelled.

"Hey there little man," James said as he lifted his son into the air.

"You okay, Lil?" Sirius asked.

"Well, most of the wizarding world now thinks that I'm pregnant."

Sirius looked confused. "But you are pregnant,"

Lily pulled out the copy of _Witch Weekly_, and showed Sirius the cover. She opened it and flipped to the actual article while James and Sirius read it from over her shoulder.

_Lily Potter, along with her husband James, have recently come under the attention of the wizarding world when their son Harry, now known as the Boy Who Lived, defeated He–Who–Must–Not–Be–Named last Halloween. But it now appears that the Potter family is growing._

_Pictured above, Lily is showing a round bump, surely a sign of pregnancy. None of their friends or neighbors will comment, so it appears we will have to wait this story to develop._

Lily closed the magazine and sat down at the table. Harry raised his arms in the air and she lifted him onto her lap.

"So now what?" James asked.

Lily sighed. "I guess we're going to have to confirm the story. Pretty soon, everyone is going to know anyway."

000

Severus Snape strode into his classroom and, as usual, the students fell silent. He explained the potion that they would be making, gave them their instructions, and set them to it. The double potions class proceeded with no incident until toward the end of the lesson. A group of rather talkative teenage girls were gathered around some type of magazine while their potions stewed. As quietly as he could, he approached them and snatched the magazine away, much to their surprise.

"Thirty points from Gryffindor." He said smoothly.

He went to the front the classroom and tossed the magazine on his desk. He was about to walk away when he saw the cover of the confiscated _Witch Weekly_.

It was a picture of Lily and James Potter smiling. He stared at those brilliant green eyes for a moment before he read the title: _Yes, they're pregnant!_

With great difficulty, he turned back to his class. Many of the students were anxiously glancing at the clock. The class was nearly over.

"Bring your samples up to my desk and clean up."

The students did as they were told, most of them looking pleased to be ready to leave. Soon after, the bell rang and the teenagers filed out, leaving him quite alone.

Severus locked the door with a flick of his wand, went back to his desk and flipped the magazine open. His black eyes quickly scanned the article about Lily, saying that two weeks earlier they had reported rumors about her possibly being pregnant and that the Potters had stepped forward to confirm the rumor only days ago.

It was a rather unpleasant surprise to receive so unexpectedly. Deep down, Severus was happy for Lily. He knew that she was a great mother to her son, and that she would be a great mother to her unborn child as well.

But what caused him to feel that a knife was being driven into his stomach was who's child she was having.

Once again, James Potter had won – just like he always did. It was unbelievable how lucky one man could be. Potter did not deserve to be in the presence of a woman like Lily Evans, let alone have her bear his children.

Anger burning inside him, he set the magazine on fire, vanished the ashes, and left his dungeon classroom.


	6. Her Eyes Were Green

A/N: legz23 and jtrudge, see if you can find yourself in here! Thanks to everyone who reviewed, but pretty please keep it up!!

Chapter 6

Her Eyes Were Green

June 27, 1982

Lily and James were watching Harry play outside. They sat on their patio set as Harry repeatedly slid down his slide. Lily's feet were propped up on another chair and her belly was nearly the size of a Quaffle; she was a week overdue.

"Would you do me a huge favor?" Lily asked her husband.

"What is it?"

"Could you rub my back? It's killing me."

James moved closer to her and kneaded her lower back.

"Thank you so much. I really do love you."

James laughed softly. "I figure it's the least I can do. I feel slightly responsible for putting you in this condition."

Lily rolled her eyes. "As you should."

But despite James's attempts, her pain did not ease. "I think I'm going to try and take a nap." After two failed attempts, Lily was finally able to stand up and waddled inside.

She wanted to go upstairs and lay down on her bed, but after considering the flight of stairs, she laid down on the couch instead. She had barely closed her eyes when she felt a sharp pain in the abdomen.

Breathing very quickly, she sat up just as James and Harry came in.

"What's wrong?" James asked sounding very worried.

"I've just had a contraction."

"Should we go to St. Mungo's now?"

"I –" but Lily was cut off by another crushing sensation. "Yes."

000

Five hours later, Lily was in a bed on St. Mungo's maternity floor. James was at her side while Sirius and Remus were entertaining Harry on the other side of the room.

She was completely exhausted. Her contractions were practically right on top of each other and she felt fairly certain that by the end of the night, she would have broken James's hand in three places.

There was a knock on the door and Healer Walters, a kind looking blonde woman, came in. "How are you doing, Lily?" she asked kindly.

"Hanging in there, I suppose."

"Would you mind," the Healer asked Remus and Sirius, "waiting out in the hall while I examine Lily?"

"Not at all." Remus replied. Sirius picked up Harry and followed Remus out the door.

Once the door was closed, Lily scooted down in bed and spread her legs. Moments of awkward silence later, Healer Walters said, "Alright, Lily, you're fully dilated. I'll go and tell your friends outside what's going on and we'll get this show on the road."

Minutes later, Healer Walters was back. James was holding one on Lily's hands while his other arm was around her shoulders.

"Okay, Lily, when you next contraction comes, I need you to push," the Healer instructed.

Lily pushed as pain coursed through her and tears welled in her eyes. Her only thought was of the child she was about to bring into this world.

After nearly an hour of pushing, Healer Walters said, "The head is out, one more good push should do it."

"You're nearly there, Lily," James encouraged her.

Lily bore down with everything she had left in her. She suddenly felt the pressure release and Healer Walters said, "It's a girl!"

The newborn's cries filled the air and Lily began to cry on James's shoulder. The Healer placed the baby on Lily's chest. With her hands shaking slightly, Lily held her daughter. She had a small patch of black hair on her head. The baby stopped crying and looked up at her mother. Her eyes were green.

000

Albus watched his staff seat themselves in the staff room. It was one of the traditional meetings that he held with them over the summer holiday.

"First and foremost, I want to welcome Kimberly Burge, who will be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts," he gestured to a kind looking, thin woman with strawberry blonde hair.

He went on for several more minutes discussing new policies that he and the governors had put into effect, schedule changes, and the ever–growing list of items that Mr. Filch wanted banded.

"There is one more thing," he said. "I know that many of you know James and Lily Potter personally and I would like to share something about them before you read it in _The Daily Prophet_ tomorrow morning." He pulled out a picture from inside his robes. "Yesterday evening, Lily gave birth to a healthy, beautiful daughter."

He handed the photograph to Minerva, who smiled. "What did they name her, Albus?" She asked as she passed the picture to Pomona Sprout.

"Leia. Leia Marie Potter."

"She favors Lily, I think," said Professor Sprout.

The teachers continued to pass along the picture, all exclaiming how beautiful the infant was. The last person to see it was Severus.

"So if there are no other concerns, you are free to go," Albus said. The staff filed out, some to clean out there offices, others to simply go home. The only people left were Severus and Albus.

"Pomona was right," Severus said, his face expressionless as he handed the photograph back to the Headmaster. "She does favor Lily." Without another word, Severus stalked out of the staff room.

A/N: Just so everyone is clear, Leia is NOT pronounced like Princess Leia from Star Wars, it's pronounced (LEE–ah). Also, June 27 (2007) was one of the greatest days of my life – the day I graduated as an LPN, just a little tidbit I thought I'd put in :)


	7. Saving Water

A/N: Thank you soooooo much to everyone that reviewed! It makes me very happy :D. So pretty please keep reviewing! Love ya!

Chapter 7

Saving Water

June 27th 1986

Although it was only nine o'clock in the morning, both Harry and Leia had gotten dressed, eaten breakfast, with much help from James and Lily, and were now playing in the living room.

"I'm gonna go upstairs and take a shower before Sirius gets here." Lily said as he and James finished straightening up the kitchen.

"Alright," he replied. He watched Lily climb the stairs. As he entered the living room where the children were playing when he heard the shower begin to run.

_They'll be fine for a bit, _James thought as he too went up the stairs.

000

There was a knock at the door. Leia stood up and said, "I'll get it," to her older brother and ran to the door.

"Sirius!" she said excitedly.

"Happy Birthday, Leia!" he said, hugging his goddaughter and handing her a pink box.

"Thanks," she said as Harry appeared. "Can I open it now?"

"Let's wait until Mum and Dad are here. Where are they, anyway?"

"I think they're upstairs." Harry answered.

"I'll get them." Leia said as she set the present on the floor. She rushed up the stairs, to her parent's bedroom.

000

The hot water pounded on her back. Lily tilted her head to the side as James nipped at base of her neck, his hands running up her back. A small moan escaped from her lips before she heard Leia call, "Mum! Dad!" as her footsteps grew louder.

Lily gasped loudly and gave James a horrified look.

"Calm down," James whispered.

"But – what –" Lily stammered before Leia asked, "Why are you both in the shower?" from the other side of the shower curtain.

"We're – uh –" James said as he stuck he head out of the shower. "Trying to save water." Lily gaped at him as she tried her best to melt into the shower wall.

"Oh," Leia replied. "Sirius is here and he said I can't open my present until you two come down stairs."

"Okay, we'll be there in a bit. Go back down stairs with your brother and Sirius."

"Okay." Leia said.

James turned back to Lily. "She's gone."

Lily sighed. "That was a bit too close for comfort."

They quickly left the shower and got dressed. They came down the stairs to find Sirius with an all too knowing smirk on his face.

"Trying to save water, huh?" he laughed.

Lily face turned nearly as red as her hair as she, choosing to ignore Sirius, turned to find her children. James on the hand replied, "Well, Padfoot, you know how concerned Lily and I are about the environment."

Lily could hear Sirius laughing from the other room. Shaking her head, she looked up to see two owls flying toward the house. She opened the window and they landed gracefully on the coffee table.

James and Sirius entered the living room as the owls took flight again. "Who're they from?" James asked.

"This one's from Remus, saying he's sorry he couldn't make it today and telling Leia Happy Birthday. Oh, and he sent you something, Leia."

Lily handed her daughter a package. Leia promptly tore into it. She gasped excitedly as she clutched a stuffed animal – a wolf cub – to her chest.

"Yeah, I'd imagine he's not feeling all that well today…tonight's the full moon," James said, "So what's the other one."

Lily opened the official looking envelope and scanned it. "It's from the Ministry, inviting us to go to the unveiling of the Statue of Magical Brethren in two weeks. Looks like its going to a be some kind of very formal party."

James looked at her in disbelief. "Your not really gonna make me go, are you?"

"Ah, c'mon James, we haven't had a night out in a long time."

"Then I'll take you out to dinner. Why do we have to go to this unveiling thing?"

Lily gave him a look that silenced him.

000

Two weeks later, much to James's disappointment, he and Lily entered the Atrium of the Ministry. Many people where already there, all wearing their finest dress robes. Dozens of house elves were carrying trays on champagne through the crowd. What James assumed to be the new fountain was cover by a very large sheet.

Really, he thought as he slipped his hand into Lily's, it had been worth coming to see his wife dressed up. She wore champagne colored robes that were slightly low cut, showing a hint of cleavage. She looked like an angel.

All in all, it was a rather boring affair. They drank a fair amount of champagne and talked with various people that they knew either from the Order or that James worked with.

Finally, at nearly midnight, the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge stood on small platform and gave a speech that James didn't pay attention to. The only part that caught his attention was the end when Fudge said, "It is with great pleasure that I present to you The Fountain of Magical Brethren!" With a flourish of his wand, the sheet disappeared to reveal the fountain. It contained a wizard and witch surrounded by a centaur, a goblin, and a house elf. Everyone clapped as water spouted out of the witch's and wizard's wands, the house elf's ears, the goblin's hat and the centaur's arrow.

James and Lily walked around for a bit longer before James suggested they leave, to which Lily agreed.

"See, that wasn't so bad," Lily said as they entered their home to find Sirius fast asleep on the couch.

"I suppose." James said. He shook Sirius's arm.

"Whas goin' on?" Sirius said, barely opening his eyes.

"Are you just gonna stay here for the night?" James asked.

"Yeah," Sirius replied before he fell asleep again.

Laughing slightly, James and Lily made their way upstairs to bed.

000

He hated summer. He had hated summer since he was sixteen. Ever since he had said that unforgivable word after their Defense Against the Dark Arts O.W.L., he had been completely alone.

But he had his minor compensations.

Severus poured himself a generous amount of firewhiskey and opened a black photo album. The first several pages consisted of pictures from his and Lily's childhood. Some showed them sitting at the edge of the dirty river that was just a few streets from where he sat now. Others were from Hogwarts and Hogsmeade.

He turned to the next page. It showed not a picture, but an article from the _Daily Prophet_. It was a birth announcement to be precise, saying that Harry James Potter had been born to James and Lily Potter. Severus remembered how he had reacted when he had first seen this in the paper: he had felt nothing but loathing for James Potter.

But then he had seen the boy's date of birth, July 31st. _Born as the seventh month dies._ Then he had been filled with fear.

The next page also held an article from the _Daily Prophet_. It bore the headline _He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named Defeated by a Child!_ Under this was a picture of the Potter's nearly destroyed home.

Next was a picture from _Witch Weekly_ that he had confiscated from one of his students. It was of Lily holding her infant daughter. Although Leia had only been a few months old at the time, the resemblance to her mother was astonishing. The only difference was that Leia had, unfortunately inherited her father's dark hair.

Then there was a picture that had been taken earlier that very summer. Lily and her family had gone to a beach on one of the Greek Isles. It showed James throwing Harry into the water while Lily, in her black bikini, held Leia's hand in the knee high water.

They looked so happy – a feeling that Severus had not known for many years.

The last picture was quite possibly his favorite. It was of Lily at the unveiling of the new fountain at the Ministry. Her dark red hair was pulled back in long curls. Her dress robes clung to her body as though they were made only for her, and were the exact color as the glass of champagne she held. She looked nothing less than an angel.

Severus downed his firewhiskey and shut the book with a sigh. He often wondered if he should get rid of it. After all, it was merely a reminder of the one thing he could never have.


	8. Not Forgotten

A/N: I am so sorry about not updating sooner! I've been really busy - I graduated from nursing school, went on way to many interviews, finally found a job, been catching up with my friends and had to shell out nearly 300 for my boards (the test I have to take to offically become an RN) leaving me with 0. Anyway, if you guys review, I promise I will update tomorrow! Love ya!

Chapter 8 Not Forgotten

July 31, 1991

"Happy Birthday Harry!" James and Lily said as their eleven-year-old son entered the kitchen.

"Thanks," he said as he sat down at the table for breakfast. A short time later, Leia came in yawning widely. Lily loaded all of their plates with eggs, bacon, and toast as Harry looked hopefully at his parents.

Lily immediately understood. "So do you want to go to Diagon Alley and get your things for Hogwarts?"

"Yeah! I'll go and get ready!" He grabbed a piece of toast before he ran upstairs.

"You think he's a little excited?" James asked sarcastically.

"Only just a little." Lily grinned. "Are you not hungry, Leia?"

"I don't see why you have to be eleven to go to Hogwarts," she pouted.

Lily and James traded knowing looks before he said, "That's just the way it is, dear."

"I wish I were eleven."

"Don't go wishing your life away," Lily said, kissing the top of her daughters head. "You only have two years to go. Now go upstairs and get ready. And if you quit pouting, we'll get you an owl."

Leia's face instantly lit up. "How about a cat?"

"I don't know, you'll have to ask your father."

"Please Dad?"

"Well, I don't know…" but his daughter gave him the same look that Lily often did when she wanted something, "Okay."

"Yes!" she yelled and she too ran upstairs.

In a few minutes, they were all in the car, driving to London. Lily was driving because, while James knew how to drive, Lily knew that James would get impatient and want to charm the car to fly or something ridiculous like that – just like _he _was the one to charm Sirius's motorcycle to fly. And even though Sirius had had that motorcycle since before Harry was born, Lily still refused to go anywhere near it.

An hour later, they entered the Leaky Cauldron, and every head turned to stare at Harry. Many of the wizards and witches in the pub came forward to shake Harry's hand.

"Doris Crockford, Mr. Potter, I can't believe I'm meeting you at last."

"So proud, Mr. Potter, I'm just so proud."

"Always wanted to shake your hand – I'm all of a flutter."

Somehow, they managed to push there way through the crowd of admirers. But when they were nearly to the back of the pub, they heard someone calling them.

"Hey, Lily! James!"

They immediately turned around to see an extremely large man with a long, shaggy mane of hair and a wild, tangled beard and glinting black eyes.

"Hagrid! It's great to see you again," said James as he shook hands with his old friend.

"Yeh too," Hagrid replied as he shook Lily's hand as well.

"Harry, Leia, this is a friend of ours – Rubeus Hagrid," introduced James. "He works at Hogwarts,"

"Hi," The chorused

"So yeh here to get yeh things fer Hogwarts, eh, Harry?"

"Yeah,"

"And what brings you here, Hagrid?"

"Oh, Dumbledore sent me here himself. Hogwarts business, yeh know." Harry and Leia looked from Hagrid to their parents with confused expressions, but Harry could have sworn he saw a flicker of understanding pass between the three adults.

Hagrid smiled as he looked around the pub. "Oh, Professor Quirrell, didn't see you come in,"

A pale young man made his way forward, very nervously. One of his eyes was twitching.

"H-H-Harry P-Potter," he stammered as he took Harry's hand into his own, shaking one, "c-can't t-tell you how p-pleased I am to meet you. And y-you must b-be L-Lily and J-James and L-Leia,"

"And what subject do you teach, Professor?" Lily asked, even though she already had a good idea.

"D-Defense Against the D-D-Dark Arts," muttered Professor Quirrell, sounding slightly afraid. "N-not that you n-need it, eh, P-P-Potter?" He laughed nervously. Lily narrowed her eyes slightly. "You'll be g-getting all your equipment, I suppose? I've g-got to p-pick up a new b-book on vampires, m-myself." He looked terrified at the very thought.

"Well, we need to get going...Nice to meet you, Professor," said James as he began to leave.

"I'll go ahead an' follow eh to Diagon Alley," said Hagrid as he followed the Potters out of the Leaky Cauldron.

"So what's Quirrell so nervous about?" James asked Hagrid as they exited the pub.

"He was fine while he was studyin' outta books but then he took a year off ter get some firsthand experience...They say he met vampires in the Black Forest, and there was a nasty bit o' trouble with a hag – never been the same since. But you an' Lily should know its diff'rent than what those books say."

Lily and James couldn't help but laugh as they approached the brick wall; Hagrid was right, they knew the difference between an idea of fighting and actually fighting better than most. Lily tapped the right bricks and the seemingly normal wall transformed into the gateway to Diagon Alley. It was so crowded that hardly anyone noticed The Boy Who Lived as he got his Hogwarts supplies. And for that, Lily was grateful. It seemed impossible to believe everything that her family had gone through to even be alive today. All that Lily wanted was to move on, but most of the wizarding world could not forget quite so easily. After a full day of shopping, James, Lily, Harry and Leia headed home, their car's trunk full of spell books, potions ingredients and, sitting next to Harry, a beautiful snowy owl. On Leia's lap sat a fluffy black kitten.

When they got home, Sirius and Remus were sitting in the living room, like it was their own – not that it was a big surprise. But they had decorated for Harry's birthday. They spent the rest of the day eating cake and watching Harry open his presents. Once the sun had set, they all headed out to the backyard and set off a box of Filibuster's fireworks, which had been part of his gift from Sirius.

000

_September 1, 1991_

"Ready, Harry?"

"Yeah, Dad," he replied nervously as he and James started running at the barrier between Platforms nine and ten at King's Cross, followed closely by Lily and Leia.

Lily couldn't help but smile as she saw the gleaming scarlet steam engine as the whistle blew. James went onto the train to help Harry with his trunk. Once they had found a compartment, they meet Lily and Leia on platform. She hugged her son and said, "Have a good time, sweetie. And behave,"

"We'll see you at Christmas," said James as he, too, hugged Harry.

Once Harry was back in his compartment, he, like the hundreds of other students, hung his head out of the window to wave goodbye as the train pulled out of the station.

"Don't forget to write!" Lily called. Tears welled in her brilliant green eyes as she and James waved back at their son until they could no longer see him.

"Are you alright?" James asked as he put a comforting arm around her shoulders.

"Yeah," she said as she wiped her eyes as they began to move towards the barrier with the numerous other family members. "I just can't believe that he's eleven already. I mean – it seems like just yesterday that _we _were on that very same –"

But what she saw made her stop dead in her tracks, making Leia run into her.

Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy were walking across Platform 9 3/4, with an air that they were better than anyone else there. But the very sight of them made Lily breathless. She knew that she shouldn't be afraid of them – but the last time she and James had met the Malfoy's, they had been under Death Eater masks, and she and James barely survived. Luckily, the Malfoy's had not seen them before they Disapparated.

James bent his head and whispered, "Don't worry about them Lil," he said gently and gave her arm a squeeze.

"What's going on?" Leia asked.

"Nothing darling, nothing." Lily said. Once they started moving again, she said, "I guess I'd just forgotten they had a boy that's Harry's age...Draco, right?"

"Something like that, yeah."

"Well, if it isn't the Potters!"

They turned to see who was talking to them to see Augusta Longbottom. She was just the way that Lily remembered her – she was wearing a lime green dress, a hat complete with a stuffed vulture and carried a bright red hand bag. Leia was biting her bottom lip very hard to prevent herself from laughing.

"Hello, Augusta," Lily said. "How have you been?"

"Oh, just fine, just fine. I had almost forgotten that Harry was the same age as Neville."

"Well, Neville is only a day older than Harry," James said.

"Of course, of course,"

"So how is Neville?" Lily asked.

"Just fine, hasn't got quiet the talent that his father had – we had almost thought that he wouldn't be accepted to Hogwarts, but here we are,"

With an angry jolt in her stomach, Lily noticed that Augusta had not commented on Neville's mother's powers, but only his father's.

As they bid Mrs. Longbottom farewell, Lily could not forget just how well Alice Longbottom and her mother-in-law got along.

_It was early May and the Order of Phoenix's meeting had just ended. Everyone was still lingering around, catching up with their fellow members. Lily and Alice had always been friendly at school, but once they both joined the Order, they had become very close because the Potters and the Longbottoms were the only married couples in the Order. And to give them something else to relate to, both Lily and Alice were just over seven months pregnant. They had just sat down at one the tables that were scattered around Headquarters. _

"_So is it just me or are you about sick of being pregnant, too?" Lily asked her fellow expecting mother. _

"_Oh, don't worry, I feel the same way...Oh, I never told you, did I? Frank and I found out that we're having a boy," _

"_That's fantastic, Alice. But I thought you two wanted it to be a surprise."_

"_We did, but we had our appointment last week, and when the Healer asked if we still wanted the sex of the baby to be a surprise, I caved,"_

"_So have you started narrowing down names yet?" _

_Alice narrowed her eyes. "Well, if by 'we' you mean me and Frank, then, no. But if by 'we' you mean everyone else but me and Frank, then, yes,"_

"_Let me guess...Augusta has already said what names she likes."_

"_Exactly. I don't know if you know this, but Frank's full name is Franklin Michael Longbottom Jr., and Augusta thinks that our baby should be named Franklin Michael Longbottom III."_

"_Now, I'm just guessing, but I take it that you _don't _want to name your son that,"_

"_Yes,"_

"_I told James right up front that if we have a boy, we are not naming him James Jr. And to be perfectly honest, I don't think I could handle two James's running around,"_

_Alice giggled. "Lily, I don't think the world is ready for another James Potter...or another Frank Longbottom while were at it,"_


	9. Letters

A/N: Thanks a ton to everyone who reviewed, added the story to favs, and/or added me to fav authors! I was very excited when I saw all of the emails in my inbox! So keep it up!

Chapter 9: Letters

Dear Mum and Dad,

Sorry I haven't had time to write before now – the first week has been really busy. You probably already now, but I made it into Gryffindor! You guys thought Neville Longbottom would be in Gryffindor, too – and he is. He spent most of the time on the train looking for his toad, Trevor. I had a compartment to myself for a while, but then Ron Weasley came in. He's in Gryffindor, too.

The opening feast was great, but something weird happened. When we finished eating, I was looking up at the staff table, trying to figure out some of the teachers that you had talked about. I locked eyes with the Potion's teacher, Professor Snape, and my scar felt like it was on fire. But the pain left as fast as it came.

And speaking of Snape – I really don't think he likes me. When he was taking role, he called me "our new celebrity," and that was before I even said one word! One on Ron's older brothers said that Snape really favors his own house – Slytherin – but I think he really hates me.

I'd better go; Ron and I are going down to Hagrid's for tea.

– Harry

P.S. Tell Leia I say Hi.

000

Dear Harry,

I'm really glad to hear that your first week went well. And as for Professor Snape, I am not too surprised – though slightly disappointed – that he would do that to you of all Gryffindors. We were all in the same year in Hogwarts and there is quite a lot of…unpleasant history between him and James. They haven't gotten along since we were your age. In fact, their was a time when he and I were friends...but that was a very long time ago. He and your father sent curses flying at each other on a nearly daily basis. Try not to give him any reason to punish you and stay clear when possible.

Dad and I miss you very much and hope your having a good time. Oh, Leia and Sirius say 'Hello' too.

Love,

Mum

000

Dad,

I need to ask you and Mum a big, big favor. But first, you are never going to believe what just happened. We had our first flying lessons today, and this kid from Slytherin – Draco Malfoy – stole Neville's Remembrall after he broke his wrist from falling off his broom. Malfoy said he was going throw it up a tree and flew off on his broom. I went after him and he threw the Remembrall in the air. So I went into a dive and actually caught it! But McGonagall saw me and took me inside – I thought I was going to be expelled. But then we when to Flitwick's room and she pulled out Oliver Wood, Gryffindor's Quidditch Captain and said that I should be the Seeker! She talked to Dumbledore and said that they would bend the whole first-years-aren't-aloud-a-broom rule so I could be on the team.

So, here's what I need to ask you...Could you and Mum get me a broom stick so I can play Quidditch? I'd be the youngest Seeker in over a century! Please, I don't care what kind of broom and you don't even have to get me anything for Christmas.

Thanks,

Harry

000

Harry,

Did you honestly think we wouldn't get you a broom? And not only did we get you a broom – we got you the best. That's right, it's a Nimbus Two Thousand, only don't open it in the Great Hall – let them be surprised.

And congratulation's for making the House team!

– Dad

000

Dear James and Lily,

It has been quite a while since our last correspondence, but there is something that I believe you should know. Last night, on Halloween, Harry and Ron Weasley, for lack of a better word, rescued Hermione Granger, a fellow Gryffindor, from a troll that was brought into the castle by persons unknown. We are still unsure exactly who brought the troll into the castle. However, I do have my suspicions.

Sincerely,

Albus Dumbledore

000

It was nearly the end of June, and that meant one thing – Harry was nearly finished with his first year at Hogwarts. She still couldn't believe that her son's first year had gone by so fast. So why were she and James headed up to Hogwarts instead of King's Cross?

Because Albus Dumbledore had sent Lily and James an owl early this morning saying that Harry was in the hospital wing and that he would like to speak with them as soon as possible. They had Sirius come over to stay with Leia and left as soon as he had arrived.

They knocked on the door of Dumbledore's office and a familiar voice answered, "Enter," They were inside barely after their former Headmaster and finished speaking.

"Ahh," he said serenely as he stood to greet them. "It has been far too long, I must say. Please, sit down,"

They did.

"Now, we must get down to business," he continued. "I'm sure you are rather impatient to know just how Harry has ended up in the hospital wing. But first, rest assured, he is perfectly fine. He just awoke this morning as a matter of fact."

"But what happened?" asked James impatiently.

"I suppose we must start at the beginning. You both know that I have been keeping the Sorcerer's Stone here, at Hogwarts, for safekeeping. The staff and myself had put a number of various spells and enchantments to protect it. However, a few nights ago, someone did try to steal it – Professor Quirrell."

Lily gasped. "But isn't he the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?"

"He was," said Dumbledore, "But, just after Quirrell had set off to get the Stone, young Harry, along with Mr. Ronald Weasley and Ms. Hermione Granger, also tried to attain the Stone – but to protect it, not to keep it. From everything that Harry has told me, I believe that he and his friends were under the impression that it was Professor Snape, not Professor Quirrell, who was trying to steal the Stone."

At the last comment, Lily noticed that James tensed. _Old wounds never die, _she thought as she was strongly tempted to roll her eyes.

"But there is more to this story. While Harry was confronting Quirrell, he also confronted someone else...Lord Voldemort."

Lily's jaw nearly hit the floor and James's eyes grew to the size of Galleons. "_What!_" they exclaimed in unison.

"Yes. Lord Voldemort, who has somehow been living without a body since his last encounter with Harry, was living out of the back of Quirrell's since at least the beginning of the school term. From what I understand, Voldemort gave Quirrell orders to kill Harry...however, Quirrell could not touch him."

"But why?" Lily asked.

"Because of you, Lily," Dumbledore responded. "The spell you cast just before you lost consciousness on that Halloween night those years ago, must have invoked an ancient magic that gave Harry a protection that still lingers to this day. However, had I not arrived when I did, I believe that Harry would have died. When I arrived, Quirrell was nearly dead himself, and once Voldemort fled, Quirrell did, in fact, die."

Both Lily and James sat speechless.

"But I think that one thing is perfectly clear..." he continued. "We are clearly dealing with an extraordinary young man,"


	10. Escape

A/N: I'm really sorry that I haven't updated in a while. I've started a job since then and I'm usually exhausted when I get home. But now I'm finally getting used to my schedule and I'm writing again. As always, please review...it makes me smile ;)

The Prisoner of Azkaban

Escape

There was no such thing as a normal year at Hogwarts.

Lily had known this since she had first arrived at the castle herself. First of all, it's a school that teaches magic – not exactly your typical boarding school. Second, you have hundreds of underage, hormonal teenagers that are practically locked up for nearly ten months out of the year...Things were just bound to be interesting.

It was true when she and James attended, so why did it surprise her that her son's life at Hogwarts was extraordinary? Because Harry had nearly been killed twice in his first two years at the magical school alone.

His latest adventure had involved a diary that wrote back, the Chamber of Secrets, a basilisk, and the true identity of the Heir of Slytherin. Even the idea of it made her head spin and her heart ache. And it wasn't like Harry went looking for trouble – trouble had a nasty habit of finding him.

In about a month, Harry would be returning for his third year at Hogwarts – as well as Leia starting her first year – which could only mean that more mayhem would ensue, Lily just didn't realize how soon.

She must have laid in bed for half and hour, trying to get just that last bit of sleep in before she had to face the day. She took a hot shower and had made a pot of coffee before the rest of her family had even rolled out of bed.

Lily was mixing her cream and sugar into her daily cup of coffee when an owl flew in through the open kitchen window and dropped a copy of the Daily Prophet on the counter. She picked up the paper as she raised the cup to her lips, but it never made it. What she saw on the front page made her drop her mug on the floor; the sound of the breaking ceramic echoed through the house.

"What's wrong?" James asked as he entered the kitchen.

She couldn't talk, hell – she could barely breathe. All she could do was stare, white faced, at the heading of the wizarding newspaper. A picture of Peter Pettigrew was in the middle of the front page. But this was not the Peter that Lily had known. The Peter Pettigrew she remembered was a plump, shy boy. But the Peter that was looking up at her from the Prophet was a thin, gaunt, shell of a man with sunken eyes. The article read:

_Escape from Azkaban_

_Early this morning, the Ministry has reported that mass murderer Peter Pettigrew has escaped from Azkaban fortress. _

"_We are doing all we can to recapture Pettigrew," said the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, this morning, "and we beg the magical community to remain calm."_

_Fudge has been criticized by some members of the International Federation of Warlocks for informing the Muggle Prime Minister of the crisis._

"_Well really, I had to, don't you know," said an irritable Fudge. "Pettigrew is mad. He's a danger to anyone who crosses him, magic or Muggle. I have the Prime Minister's assurance that the will not breathe a word of Pettigrew's true identity to anyone. And let's face it – who'd believe him if he did?"_

_While Muggles will be told that Pettigrew is carrying a gun (a kind of metal wand that Muggles use to kill each other), the magical community lives in fear of a massacre like that of twelve years ago, when Pettigrew murdered twelve people with a single curse when Auror Sirius Black attempted to take him into custody. _

"Like hell Sirius tried to arrest him," mumbled James as he read the article over Lily's shoulder, "He wanted to kill him."

Lily finally looked at James, but before she could even speak, their doorbell rang.

James made to go answer it, but Lily pulled him back.

"It's okay," he said, "He's not going to just show up and ring our doorbell." Lily nodded and followed him.

Leia and Harry came down the stairs just as his parents were about to answer the door. "Who's here?" Harry asked.

James looked through the peep hole. "It's Fudge," he said in surprise.

"Hello, James, Lily. I suppose you both saw the paper this morning," said Fudge after James opened the door. "Ah, Harry, Leia," he said as he shook their hands. Fudge's eyes lingered momentarily on Harry's scar before he turned back to James and Lily.

"I have just spoken to Dumbledore about the necessary precautions that must be taken." Again, Fudge glanced at Harry, which really irritated Lily. "We've decided to place dementors at all of the entrances to the grounds of Hogwarts."

James wanted to laugh...He knew better than anyone that there were tons of secret passages in and out of the castle, and that Peter knew all of them.

"But I don't understand why you're here, Minister," said Lily, trying not to sound rude.

"Ah, well, you see...given the fact that you were friends with him before the, er, incident, I wanted ask if there was any possible way you two had any idea of how he could have escaped.

Lily knew exactly how Pettigrew had escaped, but as James had said many years ago, it was not her secret to tell. She looked at James, who had an unreadable expression on his face.

"No idea," James replied.

"And another thing," Fudge said. "If you feel it's necessary, the Ministry can put an Auror on guard here–"

"That won't be needed," James said with an air of finality.

"Alright, I'll be in contact," said Fudge before he left.

"What's going on?" asked Harry.

Lily and James exchanged looks before he said, "Peter Pettigrew escaped from Azkaban,"

Harry and Leia simply stared at their parents before Leia said, "Is that even possible?"

"For him it is," his father replied darkly.

"He transformed," Harry said quietly. He and Leia had grown up knowing what James, Sirius, and Peter had done to help their werewolf friend.

Suddenly, two loud cracks filled the air. Lily nearly jumped ten feet.

"Jeez!" she screamed at Sirius and Remus. "You two nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"Sorry, Lils," Sirius said. "Remus here woke me up, and forced me to read what was on the front page, we thought we should talk to you guys,"

James nodded. "Come on," he said as he led his friends into the kitchen.

Harry and Leia made to follow but Lily held them back. "I think it would be best if you didn't hear this," she said gently.

"Ah come on Mum!" Leia protested as Harry said, "Yeah, we already know that their Animagi–"

"I don't care," she interrupted. "Go up stairs,"

They glared at their mother before he moodily trudged up the stairs.

"So what are we go to do?" Sirius asked no one in particular as Lily came in.

"We need to keep our eyes open," said Remus sensibly.

"For what – every garden rat in England?" asked Sirius.

"Well, you guys knew him the best," Lily said, "Does he have any distinguishing marks?"

"No," the three men replied.

"What about the Ministry?" Remus asked, almost regrettably. "Are we going to tell them that he's an Animagus?"

James, Sirius, and Remus looked at each other before they all looked at Lily.

"Oh, no," she said as she raised her hands and shook her head, "This is your three's decision, not mine,"

They fell silent. Finally Sirius said, "If we tell the Ministry that Pettigrew is an Animagus, they're going to want to know how we know, and that will lead to questions about us," he looked and James, "and not to mention you, too," he looked at Remus, "If they know that you're a werewolf, they might do all they can to keep you from teaching this coming term. Dumbledore may not care about your -condition - but you can bet that the morons at the Ministry will."

Remus stayed silently thoughtful, but Lily noticed that his face had paled.

"So we're not going to say anything?" asked James.

"Not yet," said Remus, "If something changes, like if there are any sightings of him near Hogwarts, or even here, then we should tell Dumbledore first,"

"He is likely to understand a lot more than the Ministry," Lily said, "You don't have to tell him now, but I would tell him before the Ministry,"

"Okay," said James. "We tell no one, but we will tell Dumbledore later if we must. Agreed?"

"Agreed," the rest replied.


	11. More Letters

A/N: I am so sorry for not updating sooner! I'm just getting used to my new job and shift. Thanks for being patient and please review!!

More Letters

James,

I know that it is only the start of term, and I'm not sure if Harry has told you this – or even if he will – but something happened on the train last night. It stopped not too far away from the castle – to allow a dementor on board. When I boarded the train, my compartment was empty and I fell asleep, but when I awoke from the cold from the dementor, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were there with me. Because of the dementor, Harry passed out. When he awoke, he said that he heard screaming...a woman screaming. And because dementors force us to relive our worst experiences, I think he heard Lily the night you three were attacked by Voldemort. I gave Harry some chocolate, and he seemed to do better. I sent an owl ahead to the school and McGonagall had Madam Pomfrey check him over, so he's fine. I thought you and Lily would want to know, but tell Lily not to worry...I don't think Harry will need to encounter the dementors further.

– Remus

P.S. Leia was sorted into Gryffindor and she looked thrilled.

000

Dear Mum and Dad,

I'm in Gryffindor! The common room is ever better than you and Harry said. And the castle…wow. I've been here for a few days and I've been lost about a dozen times. Harry says I'll get used to it. It seems like the dementors are a bit much. I mean, they way you always talked, Hogwarts seems like the safest place in the world and dementors seems a bit overkill. Oh well. I better get going, I've got a ton of homework and we're not even done with the first week!

Love, Leia

000

Dear Mum and Dad,

Last Saturday was our first Quidditch match against Slytherin, only they chickened out because Malfoy, their seeker, was attacked by Hagrid's hippogriff, Buckbeak. But everyone knows that they didn't play because there was a huge storm on the day of the match. So we ended up playing Hufflepuff instead. The storm was so bad, I could barely see the end of my broom, let alone the snitch. But something happened during the game...the dementors came out to the pitch. Before, when there was a dementor on the train, I heard a woman screaming...Remus thought I heard Mum the night that we were attacked. This time, I could actually hear Mum and Voldemort talking. Well, they weren't exactly talking – arguing more like. I passed out and fell off my broom. Fred Weasley thinks I must have fallen fifty feet. But here's the worst part – after I fell, the wind from the storm blew my broomstick into the Whomping Willow and all that's left is a pile of twigs...So, if I could get a new broom, that would be great – even if that's all I get for Christmas. Thanks a lot.

– Harry

P.S. I know Remus is "ill" quite a bit, but I think I'm going to ask him if he could help me fight off the dementors. After all, he did make the one on the train leave.

000

Dear Harry,

You're probably wondering why we're sending the broom at night instead of with the regular post...I thought your broom could be a surprise for the next match, which, I believe, is against Ravenclaw. This broom will leave all of theirs in the dust!

It's a Firebolt...no, I'm not kidding, it's an actual Firebolt.

Your Mum wasn't too please when I suggested it, but she just doesn't understand Quidditch like we do. Sirius and I had to work on her for a few days, but she finally broke down.

So get outside and try it out!

– Dad

000

Dear Mum and Dad,

Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you so much for the Firebolt. I thought Wood was going to pass out when I showed him! All he could say was, "A Firebolt...a real Firebolt on our team..."

– Harry

000

Prongs,

If you want to sleep in your own bed tonight, do not – I repeat DO NOT – let Lily read this. In fact, burn it after you – and probably Padfoot – finish reading it. Yesterday was a Hogsmeade day, so I stayed in the castle while most of the students went down to the village. I was grading some essays when Snape called me to his office. When I got there, Snape was saying that he had confiscated an old piece of parchment from Harry, who was sitting in his office. I recognized it immediately – it was our map! It looked as though Snape was trying to get information out of it, and I'm sure you can only imagine what it did. The Marauders had left these messages:

"Mr. Moony presents his compliments to Professor Snape, and begs him to keep his abnormally large nose out of other people's business."

"Mr. Prongs agrees with Mr. Moony, and would like to add that Professor Snape is an ugly git."

"Mr. Padfoot would like to register his astonishment that an idiot like that ever became a professor."

"Mr. Wormtail bids Professor Snape good day, and advises him to wash his hair, the slimeball."

I made up that Harry probably bought it from Zonko's, and he played along. I took the Map from Snape, and told Harry that I needed to talk to him about an essay I had assigned and we left. Once we were back upstairs, I asked Harry where he had gotten it because Filch took it from us in our seventh year. He said that Fred and George Weasley had given it to him, but he had no idea how they got it. I told him that I obviously could not give it back to him – but if he just happened to come by my office when I wasn't there and the Map just happened to be lying on my desk, and when I came back it was no longer there...well, there's nothing I can do about a missing piece of old parchment.

– Moony

000

The Daily Prophet – June 4, 1994

There has been a recent sighting of Azkaban escapee Peter Pettigrew, writes Rita Skeeter. But, fortunately, it was not in the United Kingdom. This sighting – the only one that has occurred since his escape last summer – was in northern Albania. While this is good news for witches and wizards across the country, I cannot help but wonder something. Wasn't Albania where He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was last rumored to be hiding?

While the majority of the wizarding community believe You-Know-Who to have been destroyed nearly thirteen years ago by Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, there are few who still think that He is merely in hiding. Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, is prominent among them. Speaking of which, Dumbledore has asked the Ministry to remove the dementors from there posts at the entrances of Hogwarts. The dementors were placed there last September to protect the student from Pettigrew, should he decide to attack the school.

James didn't even bother finishing the article. He handed it to Lily, which she accepted and read.

"Well, at least he's not in England anymore," she said, trying to sound positive.

"But what if Skeeter's right – he could get in touch with Voldemort. I mean, it's not like he has anywhere else to go," said James.

A shiver went down Lily's spine. Voldemort alone and friendless was one thing, but Voldemort having supporters, even one – even Pettigrew – was an entirely different matter. "But what can we do about it?"

"Sirius and I can tell Dumbledore everything," James replied.

"Are you sure you want to do that?"

James nodded. "I'm going to write to Sirius and Remus, but I'm sure they'll agree with me,"

000

That night, James and Sirius met Remus at Hogwarts to tell Dumbledore that Pettigrew was an Animagus and that James and Sirius were as well. Lily was pacing the floor all night. What would Dumbledore say? Surely he wouldn't turn them into the Ministry...or would he? What seemed like hours later, James and Sirius finally came back. They were barely out of the fireplace when she asked, "How'd it go?"

They looked at each other before James smiled slightly and replied, "Everything's okay,"

Lily's mouth fell open slightly and said, "How in the hell did you manage to get out of that?"

"He seemed more impressed than anything," Sirius replied.

"So what did you tell him?"

"Everything," said James, "How we figured out the Remus was a werewolf when we were in our second year, how Sirius had jokingly said that he wished we could turn into animals – that way we could still be with Remus and not get torn to pieces, and how I didn't take it as a joke. We told him

how it took us three years, but we finally did it. We told him that I could transform into a stag, Sirius could transform into a black dog, and Peter could transform into a rat,"

"And how did he take it?" Lily asked.

"I think he was more shocked than anything," said Sirius, "he even seemed a little proud."

"I mean, what did he say about Peter being an Animagus?" Lily said impatiently.

"He took it in stride," James said, "He said that what would happen, would happen, and for now there's nothing we can do but let events unfold,"

"So he was talking about Rita's article in the paper?" asked Lily.

"I think so," replied James.

Lily took a deep breath before saying, "So Peter's gone to Albania to find Voldemort." It was not a question.

All that James and Sirius could do was nod.


	12. The Quidditch World Cup

The Quidditch World Cup

The alarm was buzzing. She pulled the covers over her head, but that didn't stop that horrid noise. She flung her arm out to try and turn it off. Finally, she found the alarm, but it wouldn't turn off! Her hand picked up the alarm and threw it to the ground. Finally, it was silenced.

She then felt a strong arm wrap around her waist. She smiled into her pillow.

"Good morning, Lil," James breathed into her ear. He started kissing down her jaw line – he knew it drove her crazy.

"You know, we really need to get going," she said, trying to convince herself as much as James.

"Are you sure?" he asked mischievously, though he didn't stop.

Then, they heard someone call from downstairs, "Hey, Potters! Get up! We've got to get to the World Cup!"

Lily groaned. "How in the hell is it that Sirius – of all people – can get up at four o'clock in the morning? I've known him for who knows how many years and I've never seen him up this early before," she grumbled as she dragged herself out of bed.

Ten minutes later, Lily and James were downstairs having a cup of coffee with Sirius when Harry and Leia finally came down too. After a quick breakfast, they Flooed to the Weasley's to pick up Ron, Hermione, Fred, George and Ginny. Bill, Charlie, and Percy, the only three fully qualified wizards of the Weasley children, would meet them at the camp site in a few hours.

From the Weasley's home, all ten of them began their hike to the spot where they were suppose to find the portkey.

"Alright, everyone, spread out and start looking," said Lily as everyone began to look for the portkey, all looking as though they would fall over in a dead sleep at any moment.

"Over here Cedric, I've found it!" called a voice from the other side of a hill. They all turned to see Amos Diggory, who Lily knew worked at the Ministry, holding a moldy old boot, followed by a handsome boy of about seventeen.

"Hi, Amos," said James as he shook his hand. "Everyone, this is Amos Diggory, and his son, Cedric, who you know."

They all said hello, and while Amos did not dare comment in front of Lily and James, she noticed that Amos's eyes kept lingering on Harry's scar.

Sirius glanced at his watch and said, "Hey, it's nearly time, we'd better grab on." With a bit of difficulty because of the bulking backpacks, they all managed to touch part of the portkey just as it was activated. With a sudden jerk from behind her navel, Lily was pulled forward through swirling colors and howling wind. Soon enough, her feet slammed on the ground. Once she gained her balance, she helped Harry, Ron and Leia off of the ground before they all headed toward the campsite. Lily helped Amos with the Muggle money before they set off to their respective campsites.

They spent a good hour trying to set up the two tents, mostly because James and Sirius were more of a bother than a help. But by the time Bill, Charlie, and Percy showed up, the tents were ready. While it may have looked like nothing miraculous, the inside of each was like a large apartment, with plenty of room for all of them.

But the rest of the day was rather boring. They spent the remainder of a perfectly great summer's day talking to various members of the Ministry that came by. Once the kids, and James and Sirius, had bought their various souvenirs it was time to start heading towards their seats.

_Of course, we just had to be at the very top, _Lily thought bitterly as she climbed what felt like the millionth stair. Finally, they were there – the Top Box. Lily thankfully sat down in her chair as she looked around the brilliant gold stadium. It was slowly filling with thousands of people, sporting either green for Ireland or maroon for Bulgaria.

Then Lily realized who had come into the box. It was Cornelius Fudge, along with who appeared to be the Bulgarian Minister of Magic. Fudge seemed flustered because he was trying to tell the other Minister something, but he didn't seem to understand a word of English. However, it wasn't long before Fudge spotted them.

"Ah, James," Fudge said in his usual pompous manner as he shook James's hand, "glad to see all of you here," he continued as he looked down the row at her, Sirius, the Weasley's and Hermione before his eye's rested on Harry. "Brilliant day for a Quidditch match, wouldn't you agree?...I see Barty's elf is saving him a spot. Ah, and here's Lucius!"

Lily, along with James, Sirius, Leia, Harry, Ron and Hermione, quickly turned to see Lucius, Narcissa, and Draco Malfoy come into the Top Box. Even though Lily was sitting on the right of James, she could sense that Sirius, who was sitting on the other side of James, was tensing up. This was probably the first time that he had seen his cousin – Narcissa – since he was sixteen.

"Ah, Fudge," said Lucius, holding out his hand as he reached the Minister of Magic. "How are you? I don't think you've met my wife, Narcissa? Or our son, Draco?"

"How do you do, how do you do?" said Fudge, smiling and bowing to Narcissa. "And allow me to introduce you to Mr. Oblansk – Obalonsk – Mr. – well, he's the Bulgarian Minister of Magic, and he can't understand a word I'm saying anyway, so never mind. And let's see who else – you know James Potter, I daresay?"

The atmosphere with filled with so much tension it could have been cut with a knife. Lily could clearly remember the last time come face to face with the Malfoys – they had been under Death Eaters masks and she and James had barely escaped Voldemort for the third time.

James and Sirius looked like they wanted nothing more than to punch Lucius – and Lily was ready to restrain them, if needed.

"Well, well," Lucius said quietly, "We must always be in the thick of things, mustn't we, Potter?"

James looked like he was about to strike when Fudge, who hadn't listening, said, "Lucius had just given a _very _generous contribution to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, James. He's here as my guest."

"How – how nice," said James with a very strained smile.

Lucius's eyes fell on Lily as his eyes narrowed slightly, but Lily glared right back. She knew very well what he was thinking – years ago, he had no restrain in calling her a Mudblood, but with the Minister of Magic present, he dare not say anything. He nodded sneeringly to James, Lily, and Sirius before they all moved down the line of seats.

Lily heard Ron mutter, "slimy gits," and she couldn't help but smile. Then Ludo Bagman came into the box.

"Everyone ready?" he said, his round face gleaming with excitement. "Minister – ready to go?"

"Ready when you are, Ludo,"

Bagman pointed his wand at his throat and said "_Sonorus!_" before he turned to the rest of the packed stadium and said, "Ladies and gentlemen...welcome! Welcome to the final of the four hundred and twenty-second Quidditch World Cup!"

000

Hours later, they were all back in the tent, celebrating Ireland's win over Bulgaria.

"I still can't believe that Krum caught the Snitch!" said Charlie.

"I know," said James and Harry.

"He just wanted to end it on his own terms." said Sirius.

Suddenly, their was a loud noise for outside the tent. James and Sirius exchanged looks, grabbed their wands, and went outside.

"What's going on?" asked Leia. Harry started to make his way toward the door, but Lily put a hand on his shoulder.

"Wait," she said softly. "Something isn't right." Lily could faintly hear people screaming.

James and Sirius hurried back inside, both had pale faces. "There are a pack of Death Eaters holding four Muggles in the air. You guys – " James said, pointing at the Weasleys, Harry, Leia and Hermione. "Stay together and go into the woods. We'll find you when it's all over,"

"Like hell," said Bill rising from his chair. "Me and Charlie and Percy are all of age, and we're going to help," Charlie and Percy also stood.

James looked like he was about to argue, when Lily said, "Okay, but Fred, George – you take Ginny. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Leia – go with them. And stick together. Come on!"

They all rushed outside, the youngest of the group heading towards the woods. Once they were out of sight, James, Lily, Sirius, Bill, Charlie, and Percy made their way toward the screams. They turned the corner and a wave of fear swept over Lily that she had not felt in thirteen years. Their was no mistaking those masks – they were definitely Death Eaters. And they were suspending four Muggles – what looked like a family – in mid-air, and spinning them through the air.

000

What seemed like hours later, they were still dealing the Death Eaters. As much as they flat out wanted to curse the hooded figures, they were afraid that they would hurt the Muggles. But the Death Eaters suddenly stopped laughing and were pointed up at the sky. Lily, James, Sirius, and the rest of the Ministry officials turned to see the Dark Mark hanging over the woods. Lily's mind was numb. Only one thing entered her mind – her children were somewhere under the Dark Mark.

The Death Eaters Disapparated as members of the Ministry magically caught the Muggles before they crashed to the ground. Before Lily could register what was happening, many of the Ministry workers had Disapparated. Lily and James exchanged one look before they too Disapparated.

They appeared under the Dark Mark. The Ministry people all had their wands out and were firing Stunning Spells at three figures lying on the ground.

"Stop! Stop!" James yelled. "That's my son! Stop!"

They stopped immediately and the frightened faces of Harry, Ron, and Hermione peered up at them. Lily rushed forward and pulled them into a tight hug. When she finally let go, she said, in a shaky voice, "Are you all right?"

But before they could reply, the cold, curt voice of Barty Crouch said, "Out of the way, Lily." Crouch pushed past her and headed towards the three teenagers, his wand drawn. "Which of you did it? Which of you conjured the Dark Mark?"

"We didn't do that!" said Harry, pointing up at the green figure in the sky.

"Do not lie!" shouted Crouch, who looked slightly mad. "You have been discovered at the scene of the crime!"

"Now see here, Crouch," said James, moving directly between his son and Crouch. "Where do you get off accusing three teenagers of conjuring the Dark Mark?"

"James is right, Barty," said a witch in a woolen dressing gown. "They are just kids,"

"Where did the Mark come from?" Lily asked.

"Over there." said Hermione, pointing to her left. All of the wizards and witches, except Crouch, pointed to the area Hermione directed. Amos Diggory even went there.

A few seconds later, they heard Amos say, "Yes! We got them! Unconscious! It's – but – blimey..."

Amos came back to the group carrying Crouch's elf and a wand.

"That's my wand!" said Harry. "I dropped it!"

Crouch did a spell that would show the last spell the wand performed. Just as Lily feared, the smaller, smokey version of the Dark Mark appeared.

"You dropped it?" repeated Crouch in disbelief. "Is that a confession? You threw it aside after you conjured the Mark?"

"Oh, honestly, Crouch," Lily said, throwing her hands in the air. "Do you honestly think that _my son_, of all people would sent the Dark Mark into the sky?" She hated to play the "Boy Who Lived" card, but desperate times called for desperate measures. "It's like accusing you of doing it."

Crouch mumbled an apology to Lily and he headed to the place where Amos had found his house-elf, but did not come back with anything. Amos, who was a member of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, woke the elf from one of the Stunning Spell that had missed Harry, Ron, and Hermione, and questioned her.

Winky, her name was, cried that she had only found the wand and that she didn't conjure the Dark Mark. Everyone believed her. But Crouch, who had a history of wanting to put as much space between himself and the Dark Arts as possible, threatened to give her clothes. But poor Winky only sobbed harder.

But when Hermione lashed out at Crouch for lashing out at Winky, James knew it was time to go. "Well," he said quietly after Hermione and Crouch left a nasty silence, "I think we'll take these three back to the tent, if nobody's got any objections. Barty, that wand's told us all it can – if Harry could have it back, please –"

Crouch gave Harry his wand back and the five of them left without another word.

000

When they entered their tent – one of the few that wasn't destroyed – they saw Sirius and Bill still awake.

"Where are the others?" James asked.

"They're all asleep," said Bill, "and I'm on my way." He stood from the table, bid them a good night, and went into the other tent he shared with Charlie, Percy and the twins.

Lily turned to her son and his friends. "Alright guys, you all need to get to bed – we are leaving first thing in the morning."

Immediately, Harry, Ron, and Hermione all started to protest, but Lily eventually wore them down. Harry and Ron slept in a room with Fred and George while Hermione went into the room she shared with Ginny and Leia.

She sat down at the table her husband and one of her best friend were sitting.

"You're crazy if you think that all three of them aren't listening through their doors." said James.

"I'm past caring right now," Lily yawned.

"Alright, I'm done being patient," Sirius said. "What the hell happened?"

James and Lily explained everything from that had happened under the Dark Mark. Sirius let out a low whistle. "So you don't think that Crouch's house-elf did it?"

"I don't see how she could have," Lily said, "Even if she did have Harry's wand, I didn't think that house-elves could do that type of magic anyway,"

"Not that Winky of all house-elves know the spell to conjure the Dark Mark," said James, "Hell, Crouch sent his own son to Azkaban because his was accused of being a Death Eater."

They fell silent for a while before Lily said, "This can't be a coincidence."

"What can't?" asked Sirius.

"Harry had a dream earlier this summer," Lily explained. "A dream that Voldemort and Wormtail had killed someone, and were planning to kill someone else. Harry didn't say who else, but the way he said it...I think it was him. And Bertha Jorkins went missing while on vacation in Albania shortly after Peter was seen there."

"And does Dumbledore know about this?" asked Sirius.

"Yes," replied James. "We wrote to him after Harry told us. He thinks that Harry's dream was more than just a dream. He said that Harry has some kind of connection with Voldemort, and that's why he had that dream,"

"But Harry will be perfectly safe once he's back at Hogwarts." said Sirius confidently. "That castle is probably the most protected building in the magical world. Not to mention, Mad-Eye is going to be teaching there,"

"That's true," Lily agreed. "I hated to see Remus resign, but if he can't be there, it makes me feel better that Alastor will be there,"

"But even if Voldemort is trying to get to Harry," Sirius said, "he can't possibly get to him anytime soon. Harry is the most protected kid I've ever heard of,"

"But that's just it, Sirius," Lily said sadly. "That's what we though thirteen years ago, too."


	13. The Triwizard Tournament

The Triwizard Tournament

_October 31st, 1994_

It was getting late. James was still up reading the paper while Lily was engrossed in her latest find at a Muggle book store. Even now, she still loved to read Muggle novels. This one was a thriller novel, near the climax of the story – and Lily was on pins and needles, all curled up on the couch. So when a scarlet phoenix appeared from nowhere, Lily nearly had a heart attack. She gave a frightened scream and nearly flew off the couch while James laughed and took the letter that the beautiful phoenix held. By the time Lily finally registered that it was Fawkes, the magnificent bird had vanished.

James was still chuckling when he began to read Dumbledore's letter. Lily glared at him until she noticed that he had suddenly stopped smiling; his eyes had widened and his mouth hung slightly open.

"What's wrong?" Lily asked worriedly. She had come to realize that whenever Dumbledore wrote to them, it usually meant something bad had happened.

James looked up at Lily, shock written on his face. "Harry's name came out of the Goblet of Fire,"

Lily eyes widened. "That can't be possible. He's only fourteen, and there was an Age Line – Dumbledore drew it himself! And how could they let him compete against two other – "

"It says here," James cut her off, looking back at the letter, "that Harry is the fourth champion. The others were Viktor Krum, Fleur Delacour, and Cedric Diggory. Their names came out first, then Harry's. He says that Harry said he didn't put his in the Goblet, and that he believes him. And because 'the Goblet institutes a binding magical contract,' Harry must compete in the tournament."

"No, no," Lily murmured. "Who would put Harry's name in the Goblet?"

"Someone who obviously wants to harm him,"

James and Lily's eyes met and they instantly understood one another.

"It's Voldemort, isn't it?" Lily said, her voice shaking.

"Who else could it be?"

"But who could have done it under Dumbledore's – _and_ Moody's – noses?" James raised his eyebrows. "Oh, no," Lily said in an exasperated tone. "I know exactly who your thinking of, and it couldn't be him.

"How can you be sure?"

Lily rolled her eyes. "James, we've been through this who knows how many times! Snape is not a Death Eater anymore! Dumbledore trusts him...it couldn't have been him."

"Then who?"

Lily sighed. "I have no idea."

000

James and Lily arrived on the grounds of Hogwarts at ten o'clock on the morning of November twenty-fourth; the morning of the first task of the Triwizard Tournament. Had James's arm not been around her waist, Lily felt like she would have passed out. Dumbledore had invited them to sit in the staff portion of the stadium that had been set up to watch the first task – probably because he knew they would have come anyway. They had made it just in time; the whole school was making their way out of the castle. Lily couldn't see her daughter, but there was no doubt Leia was here. James and Lily searched through the crowd of students until they spotted an old man with a long, white beard.

"Ah, James, Lily," Dumbledore said as they approached. "How are you?"

"As well as can be expected – all things considered," said Lily.

Dumbledore smiled as they followed him in silence. As they climbed the stairs and nearly reached the section where many of the staff was sitting, Lily noticed that Severus Snape was among them. She felt James's hand tighten on hers; he had noticed as well.

"Behave," she whispered before they took their seats. Lily was nervously twisting her hands, and could feel her face pale when Ludo Bagman announced that the tournament was beginning.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the first task of the Triwizard Tournament! Our four champions are now preparing for what lies ahead. Each of the champions will need to rescue a golden egg from a dragon!" Lily's eyes widened as she swayed dangerously in her seat. "Our first champion will be Cedric Diggory form Hogwarts!"

Over the next few hours, Lily and James watched Cedric Diggory, Fleur Delacour, and Viktor Krum all get pass their dragons. After the took Krum's dragon away – a Chinese Fireball – they brought out the final dragon – a vicious Hungarian Horntail.

"Harry gets that!" Lily exclaimed as she pointed at the dragon.

"And here comes our final champion, Harry Potter!" Bagman announced as their fourteen year old son walked out of a small tent and into the stadium. The crowd erupted into cheers, except the Slytherins, who booed.

Harry stared at the Horntail before he pointed his wand at the castle and said a spell that no one else heard over the roar of the dragon. Lily held her breath to see what her son was planning. Soon, the crowd slowly started to cheer again as they pointed toward the castle.

Then they saw it – Harry had summoned his Firebolt. The crowd went crazy as he mounted his broom and flew into the air.

After numerous dives, and only one shoulder burn, Harry had managed to capture his egg. A huge wave of relief swept over Lily as she and James made their way out of the stadium.

"One down, two to go," James said as they left.

000

_June 24, 1995_

Lily and James were, once again, on the grounds of Hogwarts to watch their son compete in a dangerous task of the Triwizard Tournament. But from what Harry had said in his letter, there wasn't going to be much watching this time. Harry had said that a giant maze was being built on the Quidditch pitch, so the crowd wouldn't be able to see much.

But in Lily's opinion, this was going to be worse than watching Harry fight a dragon.

James and Lily had spent the day with Harry and Leia walking around the grounds. It was a rather relaxing day – until the tournament was about to begin.

While Lily tried to stay positive, thinking that after tonight, the tournament would be over and she could sleep easier, something kept intruding her thoughts. It had been clear from the beginning that whoever put Harry's name in the Goblet meant him harm – or death. And while Harry had done very well in the tasks – he was currently tied in first place with Cedric – this was the last chance for Harry to get either hurt or kill had simply make it look like an accident. This morbid thought ran through Lily's mind while the audience watched the four champions enter the maze.

As time slowly passed, red sparks were sent into the air. Lily and James tensed, neither speaking their worst fear. Hagrid, who had been patrolling the outside of the maze, came out carrying and unconscious Fleur Delacour out of the maze. Immediately, Fleur's family – who were sitting near James and Lily – ran to her. But by the time they got to her, Madam Pomfrey had revived her. Bagman announced that she was perfectly fine, though she would not receive any points for the third task.

Sometime later, another set of red sparks were fired in the air. This time, it was Viktor Krum. That meant it was down to Cedric and Harry...

000

Lily's nerves were racked. She could barely stand the tension...it had been nearly two hours since Krum had been taken out of the maze.

But from the corner of the stadium, people started whispering. James and Lily noticed a group of people huddled together just outside of the maze.

"I think some one's been killed," they heard a student say.

James and Lily took one terrified look at each other before they hurried out of the stands. They had just reached the ground when Dumbledore met them.

"Albus, what's going – " Lily began but he cut her off.

"Cedric is dead. Harry says that Voldemort, who now has a body, killed him."

All they could do was stare. Finally, Lily managed to find her voice. "This c-can't be happening," she stammered out as tears spilled from her eyes.

Then, a man and woman ran pushed past James, Lily, and Dumbledore. It was Cedric's parents. They fell on the ground next to their lifeless son, sobs shaking their bodies.

"Where's Harry?" James asked suddenly.

"He is right – " Dumbledore turned, but stopped when her did not see Harry. "Then that must mean – " he said to himself. He quickly turned back to James and Lily as Professors McGonagall and Snape came up to Dumbledore. "We haven't much time," Dumbledore said, addressing everyone. "We need to get to Moody's office, now."

James and Lily took off running with Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Snape close behind. They rushed to the castle, ran up through the Entrance Hall, up the Marble Staircase, down one corridor and up another flight of stairs until they reached Moody's office.

Without another thought, James shouted "_Stupefy!_" There was a blinding flash of red light as the office door was blasted apart with Moody caught under the remainder of the door. Lily and James rushed to their son as the others surrounded Moody.

"Oh, Harry," Lily said as she pulled her son into a hug. "Are you alright?"

"I'm okay, Mum,"

"Come on, Harry," James said, his hand on Harry's shoulder. "Let's get you to the hospital wing.."

"No," said Dumbledore sharply.

"Albus," Lily pleaded, "he needs rest – he's been through so much tonight as it – "

"He needs to understand who has done this and why. You know as well as anyone, Lily, that understanding is the first step to recovery."

"But how could Moody – " James said but was cut off by Dumbledore.

"This is not Alastor Moody,"

As if the night had not been traumatic enough, they watched Moody transform into none other than Barty Crouch, Jr. After Snape administered Veritaserum, Crouch confessed to everything; how he had escaped from Azkaban, how he had stolen Harry's wand and cast the Dark Mark at the Quidditch World Cup, how Voldemort and Wormtail had contacted him and set Voldemort's plan into motion, and how he had been taking the Polyjuice Potion all year.

After the confession, Dumbledore unlocked the fake Moody's large trunk, revealing the real, very weakened Alastor Moody. Dumbledore then sent Snape to get Madam Pomfrey to care for the real Moody while McGonagall guarded Crouch.

"Harry?" Dumbledore said gently. "I know that you need to go to the hospital wing, but I must ask for you and your parents to come to my office first."

Harry nodded. He stood up, but nearly fell into James.

"Hold on," Lily said. She lifted Harry's pant leg to reveal a bloody, swollen ankle. Lily murmured a spell that instantly healed Harry's broken ankle.

"Thanks," Harry said.

Lily nodded as she, James, and Harry followed Dumbledore to his office. They all listened as Harry recounted the events of the graveyard; that the Triwizard Cup was a portkey, that he watched Cedric die, how Wormtail had bound him to Voldemort's father's gravestone and forcefully taken his blood, how Voldemort had regained his body and recalled his Death Eaters. He also told them how he and Voldemort dueled, causing a connection between their wands. Apparently, the echo of Cedric had asked him to bring his body back to his parents.

Finally, they took Harry to the hospital wing to see Ron, Hermione, Leia standing by a harassed–looking Madam Pomfrey. They seemed to be demanding to know where Harry was. They rushed to their Harry, but Dumbledore stopped them.

"I know you are concerned for Harry, but for right now he needs sleep, peace, and quiet. And you can stay here with James and Lily, as long as they agree."

"Of course," James and Lily said as Madam Pomfrey led Harry to a bed. Once he was in, Lily sat on the edge of the bed, James sitting in a chair next to her with Ron and Hermione on the other side and Leia sitting at the fit of the bed.

"I'm alright," Harry told everyone. "Just tired."

Lily's eyes filled with tears as she squeezed her son's hand.

Madam Pomfrey brought Harry a goblet of purple potion. "You'll need to drink all of this, Harry," she said. "It's a potion for dreamless sleep." Harry didn't even finish it before he fell asleep.

How long they sat there, Lily wasn't sure. But all the while, she never took her eyes off of her son. It was really happening again...Voldemort had regained his body...their world would be plunged into war and terror once again...

But Lily's thoughts were interrupted by what sounded like Cornelis Fudge and McGonagall, followed by Snape. But Lily never expected the next turn the night would take. Being the complete idiot that Fudge was, brought a dementor into the castle to see Barty Crouch, Jr., but the dementor sucked out his soul.

There after, Dumbledore preceded to tell Fudge of Voldemort's return. Yet Fudge flat out refused to believe it. But when he doubted whether Harry was telling the truth – his evidence being based on the slanderous writings of Rita Skeeter – Lily nearly lost it. And before Fudge left, he threw Harry's Triwizard winnings on the bedside table and stormed out.

"There is work to be done," said Dumbledore. "James, I have asked you this before, but I feel I must ask yet again."

"There's no need," James said. "You know that you can count on us."

"Thank you, but I need something else, James." Dumbledore gestured to Snape, who came forward. James and Snape glared at each other. "I trust both of you," Dumbledore continued. "It is time for you to lay aside your old differences and trust each other."

_Yeah, right, _Lily thought. It would take a miracle for what he was asking.

"I will settle, in the short term," said Dumbledore, with a bite of impatience in his voice, "for a lack of open hostility. You will shake hands. You are on the same side now. Time is short, and unless the few of us who know the truth do not stand united, there is no hope for any of us."

Lily shoved James between his shoulder blades and very slowly – but still glaring at each other – James and Snape shook hands. They let go extremely quick.

"That will do to be going on with," said Dumbledore, stepping between them once more. "Now, I have work for each of you. Fudge's attitude, though not unexpected, changes everything. James, I need you to set off at once. You are to alert Sirius, Remus, Mundungus Fletcher, Arabella Figg – the old crowd. Lily, I need you to contact Arthur and Molly Weasley, tell them what has happened. Have them contact their eldest sons, Bill and Charlie."

"Albus," Lily said, "Can I stay here – just until Harry is asleep?"

"Of course, Lily," he said kindly. "James, you may stay as well." Then Dumbledore turned to Snape. "Severus, you know what I must ask you to do. If you are ready...If you are prepared..."

"I am." said Snape. He looked slightly paler then usual, and his cold, black eyes glittered strangely.

"Then good luck," said Dumbledore. Snape's eyes flickered momentarily to Lily before he swept wordlessly out of the hospital wing.

Several minutes past before Dumbledore spoke again. "I must go downstairs," he said finally. "I must see the Diggorys. Harry, take the rest of your potion. I will see all of you later."

After he left, Lily turned back to her son. "Go on, Harry," She handed her son the rest of the sleeping potion.

"This is my fault," said Harry, his voice filled with guilt. "I told Cedric to take the cup with me."

"This is not your fault," said James. "You couldn't have stopped it."

There was a loud slamming noise and Lily, James, Harry, Leia, and Ron all turned to see Hermione standing by the window.

"Sorry," she whispered.

"Your potion, Harry," said Lily quietly, holding back tears. One drink later, and Harry was fast asleep.

Several quiet minutes later, James quietly said, "Come on Lil, we have work to do," She nodded and turned to Ron and Hermione.

"Could you keep an eye on him? Just to make sure he's okay," Lily said.

"Of course," said Hermione as Ron nodded. Lily hugged her daughter before turning back to James.

They walked out of the hospital wing and through the unusually quiet castle, on their way to recall the Order of the Phoenix.


	14. The Order, part one

A/N I am so so so sorry for the wait on these capters! My life has been so crazy! Anyway, hope you enjoy them and please review!!

Chapter 14

The Order, part one

Twenty–one years.

It had been twenty–one years since Sirius Black had set foot in Number Twelve Grimmauld Place. At the ripe old age of sixteen, he had run away from his Dark Arts obsessed pure-blood family to his best friend's house. And now, those twenty–one years later, along with his best friends James Potter and Remus Lupin, he was back.

And why would he be back at the house that he hates so much?

Because he had to. This was the only place that the Order of the Phoenix could reconvene in secret. This house had more protective spells on it than any other member could think of – short of the Hogwarts castle itself.

As the three men entered the nearly abandoned building, they noticed something moving on the staircase. On instinct, James, Sirius, and Remus all pulled out their wands and pointed them at a very old, wrinkled house-elf that was completely naked except for a filthy rag tied like a loincloth around his middle.

Sirius stared at the elf in disbelief. "Kreacher?"

Kreacher blinked at Sirius. "Master left years ago, Kreacher wonders why he's back."

Remus raised his eyebrows at James, who shrugged.

"I'm claiming my house," glared Sirius. "Why don't you go upstairs and...clean something."

Kreacher stared at Sirius, looking as though he wanted nothing more than to tell Sirius to leave, but he grudgingly said, "Yes, Master," and began up the stairs, mumbling under his breath.

"Good to see not much had changed." Sirius said bitterly as they began to explore the House of Black. But before the could make it too far, Sirius collided with an umbrella stand that looked as though it had been made from a severed troll's leg. He managed to keep his balance, but the umbrella stand fell down with a resounding crash.

Before could even utter a swear word, a pair of long, moth eaten curtains just down the hall were thrown open to reveal a life-sized portrait of a screaming old woman. She was drooling, her eyes were rolling, and her screaming seemed to wake other portraits, who also began to scream.

The old woman's eyes fell on Sirius, who glared back. "_Yoooou!_" she screamed, "_Blood traitor, abomination, shame of my flesh!_" Then she noticed James and Remus behind him. "_More blood traitors! Filth! Scum! Half-breed! Begone from this place! How dare you befoul the house of my fathers!"_

"What, Mum, not happy to see me?" Sirius said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. With an amazing effort, the three of them managed to force the curtains closed as Mrs. Black's screaming stopped, along with the other portraits.

Panting slightly, Sirius motioned for them to go downstairs. Once there, they found a kitchen that was covered in cobwebs. After a few cleaning charms, it looked almost liveable. James and Remus dusted off the table while Sirius had momentarily disappeared. When he returned, from the pantry, he brought back a bottle of what James was sure was some kind of alcohol.

James and Remus gave him questioning looks, to which he replied, "Considering that Hell has frozen over – as proven by the fact that I'm in this house again – I suggest a drink is in order." Sirius conjured three glasses and poured the drinks.

They sat in thoughtful silence for a few moments before Remus turned to James. "How's Harry doing with everything?"

James let out a sigh and shook his head slightly. "It's not been easy. Lily said she heard him talking in his sleep the other night. She said it sounded like he was reliving the night of Voldemort's return, and Cedric's death."

"Poor guy," said Sirius as he finished his drink and poured another. "Has he been asking a lot of questions?"

"Both he and Leia did when they first got home. We told them that nothing has really happened yet, which it true. We haven't even had an official meeting yet. I'm not sure if he believed us, but he's been pretty quiet. He went over to the Weasleys today, so maybe being with Ron will help."

"Did Lily have to work?"

"No, she took the day off. She went to the funeral."

"He was seventeen, right?" Remus asked.

"I'm not sure – he had to have been at least that old to enter the tournament, but I don't know if he ever made it to eighteen or not."

They were silent while they finished their drinks. "Well," said Sirius. "Let's keep going, shall we? Knowing my lovely mother, there are bound to be all sorts of surprises."

000

It was a bleak day for early July. A fog hung over the single story brick building, bring a sense of tragedy and foreboding. But what else could this day bring? The weather seemed to reflect the mood of the gathering crowd.

Lily, in her black robes, approached the brick building as old memories flooded back. This was the same wizarding funeral home that Gideon and Fabian Prewett had been at, one day right after the other. The person who had spoken at the funerals had said that they had "died a hero's death," because it had taken five Death Eaters to kill them. Yeah, like _that _was suppose to make anyone feel better. Lily always hated when people said that...she had learned the hard way that, in the end, it doesn't matter if you die like a hero or not...your still gone forever, and no amount of comforting words can make your loved ones feel any better.

But this occasion was, if possible, even more tragic that the death of two good friends. This time, it was the death of a seventeen year old who was mere weeks away from graduating from Hogwarts.

A picture of Cedric Diggory greeted Lily in the foyer. A small plaque at the base of the frame gave his date of birth and date of death. His eighteenth birthday was only a week away. The picture looked like it had been taken last summer at the Quidditch World Cup; he waved at Lily, flashing her a brilliant smile as she moved to the main room.

Nearly a hundred chairs filled the room, all facing the casket, which was open. Everyone was dressed in black robes. She saw Amos and Emily Diggory at the front of the room, greeting fellow mourners. As Lily made her way up the Diggorys, she past a group of teenagers, who Lily presumed had gone to school with Cedric. In the middle of the group was a girl with long, raven hair. Lily did a double–take. 'That must be Cho,' she thought sadly. Harry had told her the Cho Chang and Cedric were an item before his untimely death.

The line diminished, and Lily finally stood next to the body. It had been cleaned up – that last time she had seen Cedric, his eyes were wide in surprise. She shook her head slightly, trying to erase that image in her head. As she looked at his peaceful form, she knew that this could easily have been her own son. _It was suppose to be Harry. _A tear slid down he cheek as she turned from Cedric to his parents. Amos looked surprised to see her, but Emily looked like she was expecting it.

Lily took Emily's hand in hers and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Because of everything that happened – that night – I never had a chance to tell you how very sorry I am." she said sincerely.

"Thank you," Emily replied. By now, it seemed she was in a state of grief that had far surpassed tears. "I was hoping you'd come," she continued. "I wanted to ask you something." Lily nodded as Emily led the way to what Lily always called the 'survivors' room'. It was set aside for family to use away from the rest of the mourners. Once they were alone, they sat, and Emily looked nervously around.

"What is it?" Lily asked gently.

"How – How did Harry survive all those years ago?" she asked hurriedly.

Lily had been expecting this. How could she tell this mother that her love had saved her son from death? So, she decided, she would tell Emily the truth – some of it, at least. "No one knows for sure," Lily began. "Not even Albus Dumbledore truly knows. But know this, Emily: Cedric did nothing wrong. As I understand it, neither Harry nor Cedric knew what was happening when they arrived at the graveyard. They thought it was just another part of the third task."

"Do you know that the Ministry has been trying to keep the whole thing very quiet?"

Lily sighed. "Unfortunately, yes. I was there when Dumbledore told Fudge what had happened. He was in total denial. James heard yesterday that they're thinking of demoting him from Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot and taking away his Order of Merlin, First Class, just so they can try to discredit him to make everyone think that he's going senile."

"Th–Then Cedric will have died in vain." Emily said as she collapsed into tears.

"Hey, now." Lily said comfortingly as she rubbed the small of Emily's back. "That's not true. People are taking action that are fighting against him."

"Like who?" she asked doubtfully. "That Order of the Phoenix group? They're just a myth."

Around the time that Harry was born, rumors circulated about the Order of the Phoenix, a secret society who's sole purpose was to defeat Lord Voldemort. But as none of the true Order's members came forward to admit the truth, the majority of the wizarding community regarded it as mere hopeful thinking. Even to this day, Lily was unsure anyone outside of the Order ever found out.

"The Order has been recalled." Lily said quietly.

Emily's crying immediately stopped as she stared at Lily. "Are _you_ in the Order?" she asked softly.

Lily knew she should keep her mouth shut, but it had never been a secret that she and James have always been against Voldemort. And, given the fact that she was the Boy Who Lived's mother, of course many would suspect that she was a member of the fabled group. And besides, the Death Eaters would know who was in the Order during the first war – Peter would have told them by now. So if telling Emily that there was an Order and she was part of it would comfort this grieving mother, then so be it.

"Yes," Lily said. "And things are being done. Nothing on a large scale can be done until the wizarding community and the Ministry accepts the fact the Voldemort has returned, but things are "

"Thank you so much," Emily said as she hugged Lily.

"Not a problem. If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to write me."

Emily nodded and they left the 'survivor's room' and went back into he main hall. That was when she was the Minister of Magic himself enter the funeral home. He was accompanied by two Aurors; Lily knew one was Dawlish the other was a tall, bald, black man with an earring who looked oddly familiar. She narrowed her eyes at Fudge, as though daring him to approach her. But soon after she caught his gaze, he dropped eye contact and preceded into the room where the service was to take place.

Lily took a seat in the back row by herself. She watched as so many came to pay their respects to Cedric and his parents. Again, her eyes fell on a group of teenagers who must have been around Cedric's age, standing in the corner. Here they were, barely adults, grieving their friend's sudden death. With a jolt in her stomach, Lily realized she was seventeen when she had attended the first funeral of a friend. A girl from Ravenclaw who Lily had been fairly close to had died in an attack on her family's mainly Muggle village. She had been the same age as Lily.

But she was shaken from her thoughts when a deep voice next to her said, "Mrs. Potter?"

Lily turned to see that Auror she couldn't place sitting next to her. "Yes?" she replied cautiously. If he came with Fudge, she wasn't sure if she would like what he had to say.

"My name is Kingsley Shacklebolt, and I've worked with James a few time over the past few years. I just want you to know that not everyone believes what Fudge is telling everyone. I, and at least half of the other Aurors, believe James.

"Thank you," she said slightly taken aback.

Kingsley looked around, making sure that no one was listening and leaned closer to whisper, "I've also contacted Dumbledore and he mentioned a secret Order that I might be interested in."

"We'd be glad to have you," she smiled. Kingsley winked at her before leaving.

Lily sat alone during the memorial service. Surprisingly, she was not thinking of the late Cedric Diggory, but of her own husband and what Kingsley had said.

_Not everyone believes what Fudge is telling everyone._ What exactly _was_ Fudge saying? Lily felt sure that it was something to do with Harry being a lair and Dumbledore finally going off his rocker. And if so, then was James defending their son? Surely he would, but what if Fudge was going behindJames's back, telling the rest of the Ministry workers that Harry was just a spoiled, attention seeking brat? This seemed much more fitting – Fudge would never approach James and say it to his face. The Minister was too much of a coward. But by the end of the service, when Lily had analyzed and over analyzed every aspect of it, she came to one conclusion. It was going to be a rough time for her family.

000

The next few days were, surprisingly enough, uneventful. Harry had come back home, and brought Ron and Hermione to stay as well. They were planning on moving into Grimmauld Place by next week. James was still at the Ministry, though Lily wasn't expecting him to be home for at least a few more hours. Harry and Ron were playing wizarding chess as Hermione watched in Harry's room, while Leia was writing a letter to one of her friends. Lily was about to go down stairs when she heard someone come in though the fireplace.

Immediately, Lily drew her wand. She carefully crept down the stairs. But when she heard James swearing, she relaxed slightly and put her wand back in her pocket. When she went to meet James, she was surprised to see him in such a state: his black hair was even messier than usual and his hazel eyes were filled with anger.

"What happened?" she asked worriedly.

James turned towards her, just now noticing she was there. "Fudge is the biggest idiot I've ever seen!" he screamed. "He and the Head of the Auror department, Scrimgeour , came up to me and said that they wanted to have a word with me. And you know what they said? They said that if I don't stop spreading 'lies', then they would fire me! So I told them that I will not stay quiet and that they could take my job and shove it up their ass!" James began pacing before he picked up a glass candle holder and threw it against the wall. Even though it shattered no where near Lily, she flinched and covered her mouth with her hand.

"And they'll be watching Sirius like a hawk. He tried to stick up for me," he flung himself down on the couch. "But I told him to stay out of it – the Order need at least a few Aurors."

Lily sat next to her husband and began rubbing his tense shoulders. Slowly, he began to relax. "There's still Kingsley Shaklebolt," Lily said soothingly, "and Sirius's cousin, Tonks."

"I know, I know," was all he said.

Lily heard a stair creak, though James didn't notice. She turned her head slightly, and could have sworn she saw a very familiar sneaker disappear half way up the stairs.


	15. The Order, part two

Chapter 15

The Order, part two

Lily entered the lift at the Ministry of Magic, covered by James's Invisibility Cloak, finally leaving the Department of Mysteries corridor after what seemed like an eternity. Once the lifts closed, she pulled off the cloak, stuffed it in her pocket, and conjured an empty cardboard box. She stepped out of the lift onto Level Two, trying, and failing to stifle a yawn. It was now four, and she had been on duty for the Order for the past six hours. As she began her walk to the Auror Offices, the empty box under her arm, she received quite a few odd stares. But this did not set her off of her goal.

As she walked past the noisy rows of cubicles, a few of the Aurors smiled or waved, but many fell silent. Were they expecting another shouting match between a Potter and Scrimgeour? Well, if she saw him, they'd probably get a good show, but that was not why she came. In fact, if she had it her way, she could get in and out before he realized her was there. Finally, she reached her destination - James's old desk. But before she could even get to her task, Sirius came around the corner.

"What are you doin' here?" he asked in genuine surprise.

Lily put the box on the desk. "I figured I'd better come and clean out James's desk. There's no telling what he has in these files and I wanted to get them before Fudge or anyone else can start poking around."

"It's a good thing you came; Fudge has already tried to get into them, but James had a password on it."

"Which is?" Lily wasn't sure why she asked - she had a good guess.

Sirius took out his wand, tapped it on the filing cabinet and, so only Lily could hear him, said, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." The drawer popped open.

Lily shook her head, grinning. "Old habits die hard, eh?" She started pulling out the various rolls of parchment and putting them in the box.

"Are you on duty tonight?" Sirius asked, barely loud enough for her to hear.

"No, I just got off, actually. I think Sturgis is on tonight." she replied, just as quiet.

After taking the files from her husband's desk, she moved on to the other drawers that held quills, ink wells, paper clips, and so on. Finally, she took the calendar and pictures of their family on the desk. There were four of them; one was of Lily and James at the end of their seventh year, two were of Lily, James, Harry and Leia - one from last year and one from when they where toddlers, and the last one was of Lily, James, Harry, Leia, Sirius, and Remus at Christmas last year. Smiling, she carefully placed the framed pictures in the box, bid Sirius farewell, and left the Auror Offices.

Luckily, she didn't have to wait long in the lift. Alone, she waited for the grates to shut when a well dressed tall man with long, blonde hair swept into the lift just before the grates closed. Lily found herself trapped in a lift with Lucius Malfoy. She stared straight ahead, but could feel his eyes on her. Her pulse quickened as, from the corner of her eye, she saw him holding his wand at his side and could have sworn he flicked it toward the grilles of the lift.

The lift jerked to a halt as it stopped on the next level. She was planning on getting off the waiting for the next one - but the grates did not open. Again, from the corner of her eye, she saw Lucius turn towards her. On instinct, she dropped the box on the floor and reached for her wand, but before she could grasp it properly, he pushed her against the wall of the lift, his wand pointing at her neck and his face inches from hers.

Although Lily was absolutely terrified, she managed to glare at him. "What are you going to do Lucius? Kill me in the middle of the Ministry of Magic?"

"I came to warn you, Mudblood," he said in a deadly whisper. "You tell your husband and your little friends to quit sticking their _prongs_ into other people's business or you will find yourself in the same position you were in sixteen years ago."

Then it was true...Wormtail had told them of James and Sirius's Animagi forms...Lucius couldn't have dropped the "prongs" bit by mere coincidence...but that was not why terror crossed Lily's eyes. And from Lucius's very pleased look, he saw the fear he had instilled in her. He stepped away from her, flicked his wand at the grates, and left. Lily remained against the wall, glaring at where Lucius had been until the grates closed once more. Shaking, she kneeled down to pick up the box of her husband's things. It was only when she caught sight on her reflection in one of the glass picture frames that she noticed the tears swimming in her green eyes. She straightened up, leaned against the wall as the lift began to move again and let out a deep breath as memories came flooding back.

_It was the third time that she and James had 'defied' Voldemort - though, at the time, they thought they would never make it out alive. The had been doing fairly well, considering the situation anyway, until five Death Eaters entered the fray. Although they wore their masks, it was easy to tell who they were. Now, Narcissa Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange each had a tight grasp on one of Lily's arms. To their right, James had been attempting to hold off Lucius Malfoy, Rodolphus and Rabastan Lestrange, though, by now, they were holding him down, as Voldemort stood in front of them, a deadly look of triumph in those red eyes._

"_Do you see what comes from resisting me?" Voldemort said as he fired the Cruciatus Curse at James. His captors let him fall to the ground as he screamed and writhed from the curse. Lily too was screaming, tears forming in her eyes. Voldemort lifted the curse, James's captors lifted him to his feet, though this time, James did not fight them. Lily knew he was in pain, though he was trying not to show it._

"_And now..." said Voldemort as he turned his attention to Lily, "what to do with you?"_

_Something seemed to awaken in James; he yelled, "Don't you touch her!" and was once again trying free himself. Voldemort waved his wand and ropes flew around James, tightly binding his arms and legs together, another around his mouth as he once again fell to the ground. His three captors laughed. _

_Lily did not struggle against Narcissa and Bellatrix, but glared into those scarlet eyes._

"_Come forward, Lucius," Voldemort said, not taking his eyes off of Lily. Lucius knelt at his Master's feet. "Kill the Mudblood," he continued, a terrifying grin flitting across his even more terrifying face, "but first, have some fun with her..."_

_As Lucius's cold grey eyes roamed her body, she realized what was about to happen - any woman would have preferred death over the fate that awaited her_

"_No!" she screamed. Lily made a futile attempt to back away from the approaching Lucius, but to no avail - her captor's grips were too strong. _

_By now, Lucius was a mere foot from her when she felt Narcissa's grip on her left arm slacken. Lily wrenched her arm out of her loosened grip and kneed Lucius where it would hurt the most; he instantly fell to the ground. And because Bellatrix was slightly stunned, Lily was able to free herself from Bellatrix's vice-like grip as well. But before she could take another step, Lily felt as though hundreds of white-hot knives were stabbing every inch of her body. What seemed like an eternity later, the Cruciatus Curse was lifted and Lily found herself panting on the ground, very close to unconsciousness. The last thing she remembered before she fell into blackness was the glorious image of nearly two dozen Aurors rushing Voldemort and his followers._

Lily was brought back to the present by the cool female voice saying, "The Atrium,". It was only when the grates opened did she realize that her pretty face was damp with tears.

000

Deciding that she needed sometime to regain her composure, Lily walked to the nearest Underground station and rode as close as it would come to Grimmauld Place, where her family, along with the Weasleys, Hermione, Sirius, and Remus were all staying until the kids went back to school.

Once inside Number Twelve, she made her way up three flights of stairs to where her and James's bedroom was. Just as she put the box of James's desk contents on the bed, she was him come out of their joined bathroom with only a towel around his waist.

"Rough day?" she asked.

"We spent most of the day cleaning out the drawing room." he replied as he sat on the edge of the bed. He studied her face for a moment before saying, "You alright?"

She sighed as she sat next to him. "I'm fine, just a little shaken is all." But when he continued to look worriedly at her, she launched into her encounter with Lucius Malfoy and the very unpleasant memory in dragged up.

"It's just that I've tried to block that memory out for years - maybe that's why I was so shaken by his threat."

James placed a comforting arm around her waist and hugged her. "You know that I would never let that happen to you." he said earnestly, looking into those green eyes he loved so much.

Lily nodded, gazing back into his hazel eyes. The next thing she knew, they were joined in a passionate kiss, her fingers raking through his messy, and still wet, hair. She leaned back on the bed as James started kissing his way down her neck and unbuttoning her blouse.

That was when they heard the knock on the door. Lily started into a fit of silent giggles and James snapped, "What?" at the door.

"I hate to interrupt," said Sirius's voice from the hall, "but the meeting's in twenty minutes and half of the Order's already here."

"Thanks!" Lily said, stifling her laughter. They heard Sirius walk down the stairs at they sat up. "You need to get dressed," she said as she buttoned her top. "I'll meet you down stairs."

"Alright," James said grudgingly. Lily grinned as she gave him a quick kiss and headed down stairs.

000

After the meeting, some of the Order had decided to stay for dinner that, mainly, had been thrown together by Lily and Molly. Of course, Tonks had offered to help, and even though Lily really liked her, she was extremely clumsy and Molly had told Tonks had worked all day and needed to rest.

It had been a rather nice evening; beside her, James, Sirius, Remus, Arthur and Bill were discussing whether the goblins would go over to Voldemort's side, Tonks was entertaining Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny with her Metamorphosing abilities by transforming her nose between bites. Lily, however, simply surveyed the scene happily. She noticed that Remus kept looking at Tonks in interest, but for no more than a few seconds at a time. But what Remus obviously had not realized was occasionally glancing at him in return. _They'd make a cute couple, _Lily thought serenely. Meanwhile, Mundungus was amusing Fred and George with tales of his less than honest trade dealings.

But after several helping of dessert apiece, everyone seemed relaxed. "Nearly time for bed I think," Molly said, stifling a yawn.

"Just a minute, Molly," said Sirius as he turned toward Harry. "You know, I'm surprised you haven't asked on question about Voldemort since you've been here."

As a shudder passed around the table from the use of Voldemort's name, the atmosphere became very tense.

"I did," said Harry. "When I first got home from Hogwarts, but Mum and Dad didn't say much,"

"And they were right," said Molly. "You're much to young-" but she was cut off by James.

"But you're right, Harry." he said with a glance at Lily, who nodded slightly before he continued, "You do deserve to get a general picture."

"Hang on!" said George loudly, "How come Harry gets his questions answered?"

"Yeah, we've been trying to get stuff out of you lot and you haven't told us one sticking thing!"

After a minor row between the youngest Weasley children and their mother, Fred, George, Ron, and Hermione stayed in the kitchen while Ginny was nearly dragged kicking and screaming to her room. And as much as Lily hated to do it - deep down she knew that Harry had every right to know what was going on. Leia remained to listen. She and James both agreed that she had every right to know what was happening to her family.

For the next several minutes, the members of the Order that were present filled Harry, Leia Ron, Hermione, Fred and George in on the general picture. In Lily's opinion, they did a fairly decent job of not telling the kids anything that was strictly confidential...that was at least until...

"...he can only get through stealth." James was saying.

But when Harry continued to look puzzled, Sirius continued, "Like a weapon. Something he didn't have last time."

"When he was powerful before?"

"Yes,"

Lily closed her eyes. They were getting to close...

"Like what kind of weapon?" asked Harry. "Something worse than _Avada Kedavra_?"

"That's enough." Lily said suddenly, sounding slightly hoarse.

Molly looked sympathetically at Lily before saying, "She's right. Time for bed - all of you."

"You can't boss us-" Fred began.

"Watch me," said Molly dangerously. "Harry's heard enough information. Anymore and we might as well induct him into the Order straightaway."

"Why not?" Harry said quickly. Lily felt as though she were experiencing deja vu, thinking - for an instant - that it were James speaking all those years ago. But with a horrible jolt, she knew this was her son. "I'll join," Harry continued, "I want to join, I want to fight-"

"No." This time, both Lily and James spoke. Seeing that Lily was trying her best to keep her emotions under control, James continued, "The Order is only made up of overage wizards - who have left school-" he added, anticipating Fred and George. "There are dangers that you cannot understand...any of you...Molly's right, it's time for bed.

Grudgingly, Harry, Leia, Ron, Hermione, Fred and George got up from the table, bid everyone goodnight, and left the kitchen, followed closely by Molly. Shortly after, the Order member took their leave as well. Remus and Sirius were last to go, giving James and Lily some privacy.

Once alone, Lily's eyes began to swim with tears. "H-how are we going to do this?" she asked desperately.

He grasped her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "We'll do it together. But we're going to have to tell him soon."

"He's not even fifteen..." Tears began to fell down her cheeks as she leaned her head on James's shoulder.

"But we can't keep it from him much longer. He needs to know."

For some unexplainable reason, Lily felt anger well up inside her. She suddenly lifted her head and glared. "Fine, then let's just go up stairs right now and tell our son that no matter what anyone else does, it's going come down to him killing-" but she couldn't finish her sentence, she couldn't say that her only son must become a murderer. Angrily, stalked to the sink.

She heard James move his chair and walk toward her. She twitched slightly when she felt his strong arms wrap around her waist. "I don't want to tell him any more than you do," he said quietly. "But our time is running out. Harry said that he's been having dreams about a long, windowless corridor." Lily spun around and gave James a very shocked look. "He doesn't know it's a real place yet, but he'll figure it out eventually, and he'll want to know what is so important about the Department of Mysteries."

Lily sighed and said hopefully, "so we've decided not to tell him tonight, right?" James grinned slightly and nodded. "Good," she continued, "Then let's go to bed."

000

Lily tossed and turned, even hours after James fell asleep. Eventually, she crept out of bed, pulled on a sweatshirt over her thin t-shirt and pajama pants, and crept barefooted down to the kitchen. She lit a fire in the grate with her wand, sat at the table, and poured herself a glass of firewhiskey. She could feel it burn down her throat as she stared at the dancing flames.

It seemed impossible that they were back in the same situation that they were in fourteen years ago: Voldemort wanting Harry dead. If she was honest with herself, she had always known that he would come back some day. But she had never imagined it would be so soon. Lily had hoped that Harry would at least be an adult, able to deal and cope with such a tremendous weight. But Harry was nearly fifteen, he was just a boy...her little boy...

Tears quietly spilled from her eyes just as someone uttered her name. She turned, expecting to see James. Instead, she saw nearly the last person she would expect to see - Severus. Lily quickly wiped the tears from her face and asked, "Did you need something, Severus?"

He paused, seeming unsure of how to respond to finding her like this. "I-I have my report for Dumbledore. I went to the school, but he wasn't there, so I've brought it here."

"I'll take it, Severus. I think Dumbledore said he would be here sometime in the morning and I'll make sure he gets it," Lily said, trying to sound stronger than she felt.

Severus gave her the roll of parchment. She gave him a weak smile. He turned to leave, but stopped at the door. "Lily - are you alright?"

It was the first time in years that Lily could see the boy he had once been shining through those usually cold black eyes.

"Yes," she replied, not quiet looking him in the eye.

He felt miserable. Of course she's not alright. The Dark Lord wants her and her entire family dead - and it was all his fault. He turned and swept from the room. Lily looked at the spot where he stood feeling slightly confused. She shrugged, and headed to bed.


End file.
